Mahindran, who gave us the beautiful many faces of Agathiyar, decorating him after each libation or abhisegam at AVM has penned the following after journeying with Agathiyar since 2013.
அகத்தியரோடுஎனதுபயணம்
டிசம்பர் 20, 2013 எனதுசரியைக்காணப்
பயணத்தின்தொடக்கம். அன்றுதான்நான்முதல்முறையாகஅகத்தியர்வானம்மலேசியாவிக்குஎனதுநண்பர்களோடுசென்றிருந்தேன்.அங்குநான்கண்டதுஅகத்தியர்உருவில்சிவனை. பின்னர்நான்ஷண்முகம்அண்ணனிடம்என்னைப்பற்றிபகிர்ந்துகொண்டேன். அன்றுநான்அறியாததுஎனதுவாழ்க்கையில்பெரியஅளவிலானமாற்றங்கள்வரும்என்றும்அவைஅனைத்தும்அகத்தியர்அப்பாவின்செயல்என்றும்.
Having read much on religion and spiritualism and debated over it with others, having spent the early hours of dawn and dusk in prayers, visiting all the temples daily in my vicinity, I was angry with the divine lord for not protecting his subjects, and for the divine father and mother for watching in silence while their children suffer. In some individuals, the divine itself took responsibility for causing hurt and suffering. This left me baffled, troubled and confused for was not the divine supposed to be loving, kind and compassionate as broadly advertised and spoken of by saints. By the grace of Lord Shiva, I was saved from going cuckoo. Lord Shiva came in a dream in 1988 and told me to refrain from asking questions further and to keep them for a later date. I could not comprehend his asking then. Today I fully understand the reason for the divine to end my torment for I had to learn and experience further and gain an understanding of how the divine laws work. What I did not know then was that Lord Shiva had changed my fate and destined me to a new destiny under the tutorship of Agathiyar, in the years to come.
If fate deals a blow on others, it brought me to the doorway of the Kingdom of Light. Agathiyar came into my life by way of the Nadi, an oracle or a written document of my soul's journey and soon began to work on my fate bringing upon a new destiny. It was 14 December in the year 2002, as I sat before Sentilkumar, a trained Nadi reader from Avinashi, Tamilnadu, then in Malaysia, eagerly awaiting again for him to assist me in locating my particular Nadi amongst the numerous hundreds that he had with him since we had failed to retrieve my Nadi some two weeks earlier. After a similar session of questions, briefly scanning through every single leaf in the bundle before moving on to the next, whereby I was only required to either agree or disagree, we finally stopped on coming upon a leaf that pretty well summarized my life, its content and description of the individual in it closely relating and pointing to me. We jointly agreed that it was mine and he went on to read the Kaandam or chapter and its other associated Kaandams, in full.
Agathiyar addressed and answered the doubts and questions that I had carried for some 14 years in the Nadi. Agathiyar shared this divine law with me through his revelation in the Nadi reading, explaining the cause and effect or karma that determines the soul's journey and all that it encounters in life. I too had done my share of karma having brought hurt and misery to others in my past lives.
As he had asked that I come to his path, I went in search of all the organizations that carried his name in Malaysia. None captivated my interest nor made me stay longer than to learn a thing or two. I worked on myself, worshiping Agathiyar in the form above and singing the praises of the Siddhas as compiled in a tiny book given to me by Sentilkumar after initiating the prayer as part of my ritual of paying homage to the Nadi of the Siddhas, and taking resources from all the books, videos, and material made available by the local affiliate of the Agathiyar Sanmarga Sangam based in Ongkarakudil. In August of the following year, after having carried out remedies and atonements that were listed out by Agathiyar in the Nadi, in my home ground, I fulfilled all the rests on my maiden pilgrimage to India, due solely to his grace in wanting to see us come out of the maya and disillusion that covered us for eons and ages. I paid a visit to Ongkarakudil Aasan too for filling me on the worship of the Siddhas through his numerous publications and videos.
Towards the end of my pilgrimage of temples, Agathiyar introduces me to my very first guru, Supramania Swami. I visit him on the pretext of seeing the horoscope for my younger daughter, a request that came quite sudden from my wife as I boarded the cab to the airport to fly to India. Supramania Swami took me as his student and showed me devotion and bhakti towards the guru, having himself five gurus to his credit. He showed me that sheer devotion could bring his guru Yogi Ramsuratkumar from his samadhi and sit and chant his mantra with us, during one of my later visits. My fate is realigned to that of worship of the guru, "one who destroys/dispels darkness", someone considered necessary before we could possibly engage with the divine.
Two years later Agathiyar shows me to Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal of Kallar Ashram who was in Malaysia officiating an affiliate of his Peedham. He took me as his student and asks that I frequent the local chapter of his Peedham and gain more knowledge about the Siddhas.
Photo courtesy of Sri Agastiar Nyaana Peedam Malaysia
But the most compassionate Agathiyar wanted me to come under the direct tutorship of Tavayogi and directed me to get another initiation from him the same night I had a Nadi reading with T.Ramesh of Kumbakonam, then in Malaysia. Tavayogi followed as dictated by Agathiyar. He invited me to his ashram in India, which I did a month after he left for his Kallar Ashram. He introduced me to doing charity and feeding the hungry at his ashram in India. He showed me the abodes of the Siddhas, bringing me to the temples, jungles, and caves, giving me first-hand experience of the life of a Siddha. He brought me to the next stage, moving from Sariyai, my self engaged worship of the Gods and Goddesses in the Hindu Pantheon, to that of Kriyai, introducing the many rituals that came along with the worship of the Siddhas. Tavayogi taught us Yoga Asanas and Pranayama too, bringing us to have an insight into the next stage that was Yogam. Through his many short and brief observations and statements that he would utter as he walks by or walked with us, he brought me insights into the mysteries of the world of the Siddhas, something that has only begun to dawn upon us now in the present moment. View the activities of Kallar Ashram at https://agathiyargnanapeedam.org/gallery/
From the path of devotion or bhakti towards the deities, Agathiyar brought me to bhakti towards the guru as exemplified by Supramania Swami and devotion to Agathiyar and the Siddhas as stood for by Tavayogi. After the demise of both my gurus, Agathiyar has personally taken charge of leading and guiding me and others in this family of devotees, changing further our pre-ordained and written fate, wiping and cleansing the written slate and writing anew a fresh destiny as he desired. He comes through the Aasi Nadi readings and through others whom he uses as a medium.
After engaging in Sariyai and introduced to Kriyai, Agathiyar has brought us to Yogam the science of restoring the health of the physical body and that of the soul. After having been threshed and strangled by the effects of our past karma, he restored faith and belief in the divine law and its system. When faced with larger than life ordeals that we could not handle by our worldly acquired knowledge and know-how or arivu, we sought the Siddhas for an explanation and a way out. We were told that there is no way we could run away from it, but the most compassionate father always gives us that much that we can shoulder, postponing the rest of the ordeals to a later date, time, period or birth. He gives us the means to overcome the problems by rerouting us hence going around or lifting our burden, at least for that moment, so that we can go through the ordeal or the obstacles or comes to cushion the misery, pain, and suffering. He lightens our baggage of karma by having us engage in doing remedies that take the form of worship and acts of charity, hence diverting our mind from the pain and misery on hand. To those who come seeking for the reasons for their endless sufferings, they are told that it all boils down to one's deeds or karma in the past. If they seek to know the means to escape the tightening hold of one's karma, they are asked to pray consistently. To those keen to follow, they are asked to direct their prayers to the Siddhas, the secretaries, and missionaries of the divine Lord. How do you explain to those who have fulfilled all these directives and yet see their sufferings prolong without a light of hope down the tunnel? The answer comes through a mysterious message to a friend in desire need of divine assistance as "When the examination is on, the teacher remains silent!" Having prepared, burning the midnight oil, we take to the questions with confidence while the teacher watches on silently. Similarly having done what needs to be done as directed by the Siddhas, we take the examination of life, while the Siddhas watch over us, giving us the strength and confidence in scaling the mountain of troubles having faith that together they shall see through the ordeal and come out polished and shining anew, both physically and at the level of the soul.
Agathiyar lamented recently that people have moved away from living the lifestyle of the Siddhas or Siddhar Neri Vazhkai Murai. He brings to our knowledge several means of rejuvenating and strengthening, both the physical body and the soul helping it gain udal balam and atma balam. The physical and mental stress we go through strengthens our physical body, the mind and the soul by building on its experiences, a much-needed ingredient for life. In the "Metaphysics of Saiva Siddhantam - Sivagnana Boodham by Thiruvilankar Canagarayar, l96l, we are told,
In order to purify the soul, the Primal One by His infinite Grace, applied Maya and Karma Malams, to the fettered soul, just as a washerman applies Fuller’s earth and cow-dung to remove the dirt in a piece of cloth. When Maya and Karma Malams counteract on Anavam, the ignorance of the soul, being the effect of the function of Anavam, is removed from the fettered soul and its intelligence illumines.
We are reminded not to take things too comfortable and lose our hold on the ladder as we sit perched on the higher rungs of the ladder of spiritual evolvement. We understand that most of us tend to gather two forms of knowledge through our worldly lives, that of Pasa and Pasu, physical and logical respectively. The third that of Pati is that which enlightens us.
The sun is visible to all but he is invisible to the blind. Similarly, the Primal One will not reveal Himself unto those fettered by the Malams, but to those free from Malams. The three Malams Anava, Maya, and Karmam are impurities. The original impurity of the soul is Anavam. The five senses and the inner faculties of reasoning cannot function without the help of the soul. If the soul does not energize them; they lie dead, as a corpse. When those senses and faculties function, the intelligent soul accumulates physical and logical knowledge (Pasa and Pasu knowledge). These two kinds of knowledge enlarge the horizon of souls’ intelligence. The soul enveloped by Anava Malam is ignorant in the Kevala state, of God, the Supreme Reality and becomes enlightened through Pati-Jnanam.
With the coming of the Sadguru, the darkness dispels.
It will be pervasive and omniscient after its complete release from all the Malams, by the grace of God, just like the sun hidden by a bank of clouds shines forth in full brilliance, when the banks of clouds are driven away by the storm. God appears as Satguru before the soul fettered by pasam or world of senses, and initiates it, on the ground of tapas performed by it in the past birth. On receipt of the Upadesa the soul realises its real spiritual nature as that of God and abandons the world and reaches the feet of God, as He is one with it. Now it is its duty to meditate on Him.
Taking heed of the call, the divine begins its work on us.
The husk, bran. and sprout or germination of a paddy seed are comparable to Anavam, Maya, and Karmam that encompass the soul. When the husk and bran are removed the paddy seed will not germinate, and the sprout (Karmam) will not spring up. Similarly, when the Anavam retreats and Maya retires, then the energy (Karmam) of maya also retires with Maya. When the Anavam retreats from battle field its opponents Maya and Karmam retire. When Maya and Karma Malams counteract on Anavam, the ignorance of the soul, being the effect of the function of Anavam, is removed from the fettered soul and its intelligence illumines. The soul, at this stage, through introspective reflection, arrives at a point where a ray of light falls on the soul in the form of an inspiration. Then the soul discovers the vanity or metamorphosis of the physical world, (the Asat) and is led into meditation. By the Grace of God, the soul becomes blind to the world and attains knowledge of God by His Grace. This is the spiritual truth called Pati Jnanam.
Sariya, Kriya and Yoga can only yield a lower type of Mukti called Pada Mukti or graded Mukti or Apara Mukti not the Para Mukti which is attainable only through Jnana Marga known as Sanmarga. Jnana Marga is the final stage. At this stage God induces a perfect Jnani to initiate the deserving aspirant or He does so Himself. This is done, only after the aspirant has learnt to regard alike all actions (Samadhva Buddhi or Iruvinai Oppu) without any attachment to them, and as actions of God Himself. He is one with God. God is love to him. This is the appropriate time for the Anava Malam to cease to have any hold on him. This grace is Sayujyam (the bliss of divine communion), or Para Mukti.
We are led to uncovering the Jivan Mukta.
The soul which has realized God through divine knowledge Pati Jnanam, after it had renounced the worlds as changing or asat, is called Jivan Mukta. When the Jivan Mukta attains divine wisdom, the Pati Jnanam, he shines as a spirit with intense love for God. Then the redeemed soul becomes a Jivan Mukta, as he has reached the Sacred Feet of God. Now the Jivan Mukta is free from the three-fold Malams and is at the Feet of God.
Jivan Mukta is one who has already attained the Sacred Feet of Lord Siva. Lord Siva appears in him as Joti or light at Suzhi Munai (Susumna Nadi), through unfailing love unto Him. The Jivan Mukta, through unforgetting or unceasing love attains the bliss of the Primal One.
Then we embark on the last journey.
The Primal One, through His Arul sakti will release from Pasam the Jivan Muktas who love Him immensely, just as the sun blossoms lotus buds, only if they are mature and reached the state of blossoming.
Besides having us experience life as it showers on us the good, bad and ugly, Agathiyar brought us to rediscover his 5 tenets that serve as the core purpose of human birth, that he proposed at the Tamil Sangam.
Having introduced us to all these fine tools that serve to enhance and enrich our purpose in taking birth, strengthening our body, soul and spirit, he now comes to work further on the very vessel or vehicle upon which both the soul and spirit travel - our body.
For the purpose of cleansing first and later strengthening the physical form, he introduces his Agathiyar Kuzhambu, showing us to Siddha practitioner or Siddha Vaidyar Arivan of the Arulguru Agathiyar Arulsidhar Peedam, also known as Agathiyar Yoga Herbs Centre and officially registered as the Agathiyar Arul Shakti Peedham.
Photo courtesy of Thiru Arivan
From http://ijpsr.com/bft-article/agathiyar-kuzhambu-not-only-a-purgative-an-overview/?view=fulltext we get to know further about this amazing preparation.
Agathiyar Kuzhambu is said to be one among the 32 Siddha medicines taken internally listed in the Gunapadam Siddha text literature, that covers a vast area of indications. It contains 11 ingredients which are mentioned in the Siddha formulary of India - part -1, that when combined act as a purgative. Besides being a purgative it is said to cure many diseases too. The major ingredients of this drug are Perungayam, Kadugu, Induppu, Rasam, Vengaram, Naabi, Manosilai, Omam, Aritharam, Karunjeerakam, Nervalam. (Source: Muralidass SD and Shree-Devi MS: “Agathiyar kuzhambu”- not only a purgative- an overview. Int J Pharm Sci & Res 2019; 10(5): 2156-63. doi: 10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.10(5).2156-63.)
Photo courtesy of INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES AND RESEARCH
Elsewhere we are delighted and relieved to know that the "classical sastric herbo - mineral Siddha medicine Agathiyar kuzhambu can be used for all 4448 diseases."
At https://ayurmedinfo.com/2019/11/28/agasthiyar-kulambu/ we are told that in case of severe and intense purgation, a decoction of seeragam, puli, elumichan saru should be given to reduce its severity.
I was blessed to receive the Agathiyar Kuzhambu, a herbal preparation that cleanses the body and its various systems, rejuvenating and strengthening it. Readers who seek this herbal cleanser and other siddha medicines can get in touch with the the Siddha doctor Arivan.
We cannot possibly dream of having coffee with the President, Prime Minister or Governor, but might have an opportunity to dine with their officials or staff. Similarly, the Siddhas have come to dine with us and pass our message, wants, asking, etc to the divine. For this purpose, we are told that each of us has a guardian angel accompanying us from birth till death. But we are not aware of their presence most of the time. Recognizing them and allowing them some space in our lives brings hastened progress and results in our purpose and spiritual venture. Hence the reason to have a myriad of Gods and Goddesses, deities, guardians, angels and souls to look over our shoulders.
Peter Wang writes that "China is an ancient country full of mysteries in which many Chinese deities and immortals can be found. The ancient Chinese believed in these gods, goddesses, magical beings, dragons, and ghosts and prayed to them for help" and goes on to list the 10 most famous gods and goddesses in Chinese mythology with their images.
Briefly, we quote him,
Jade Emperor is considered the highest deity ruling the universe in the Chinese world. In Chinese mythological stories, he controls all gods from the Buddhist and Taoist and other religions.
Wangmu Niangniang is the highest goddess and is the wife of the Jade Emperor in Taoism. She commands all female gods and is also a god of happiness and longevity and has magic pills which can make people live forever.
Nuwa is a Chinese goddess who created human beings. It was said she molded yellow mud into a figure like her, which was then alive and became the first human being. We believe that "Brahma has the creator of the universe. While Brahma himself is the creator of the universe, he evolved from the lotus flower in the navel of Vishnu." (Source:https://www.ancienthistorylists.com/india-history/top-10-hindu-gods-praised-hindus-around-world/)
Guanyin is the Chinese “Goddess of Mercy”. She is considered to always help the distressed and hungry and gives comfort and aid wherever it is needed.
Yan Wang is a Chinese king of death who commands all the gods of the underworld. He has a filing book which records the life and death of every person. He gives appropriate punishment according to the conduct of each’s acts during his lifetime.
Dragon King is the king of the sea. He rules his own royal court and commands all creatures in the water. The Dragon King also controls the rain and winds and can bring rainfall to the earth. In our circles, Indra is considered "the king of heaven and the leader of the Devas. He is the god of rain." (Source:https://www.ancienthistorylists.com/india-history/top-10-hindu-gods-praised-hindus-around-world/)
Nezha is a great teen deity in Chinese mythology. In Journey to the West, Nezha was a general of heaven. In our circle, a comparison is seen with Kumara. "One of the major objectives of his birth was to kill the demon Tarkasur. Because of this, he was raised by the Kirtikas, far away from his parents to protect him from Tarkasur’s attempts to kill him. After achieving his powers, Kumar was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Devas in the battle against Tarkasur. Due to his courage and skill, Kumar was offered the position of the king of heaven, but he turned this down as he considered his role as the commander-in-chief to be more important." (Source:https://www.ancienthistorylists.com/india-history/top-10-hindu-gods-praised-hindus-around-world/)
The Eight Immortals are a group of legendary immortals in Chinese mythology. Each Immortal has his/her own power tool to bestow life or destroy evil. In our circle, Hanuman is one of the eight immortals known as the Astachiranjiwi. (Source:https://www.ancienthistorylists.com/india-history/top-10-hindu-gods-praised-hindus-around-world/)
Caishen is god in charge of wealth in Chinese mythology.
Chang’e is the Chinese goddess of the Moon. During the traditional Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, Chinese people usually offer mooncakes and stare at the moon in hopes of seeing her.
We see similarities in the world's religions too.
What brought fear and terror to me as a kid and that made me watch only from a safe distance soon became somewhat friendly when the forces came over a sibling. Soon they left him too. Watching them come to hear and listen out to the troubles of their devotees, I realized that they meant no harm but wanted to expedite the wants of their worshippers. Lately, we too have been having encounters with the divine forces. We are beginning to see how Agathiyar and his forces come to the call these days. They listen and execute the soul's wishes and at times our individual wants too. And it all started with worship to them. Diligently following their commands, and having satisfied them, they have left their abodes in the heavens to be with us.
When others use this friendship for their advantage in seeking rewards and siddhis, we chose not to ask for anything perishable. When the eight siddhis are there for our picking, we refrained from wanting them, instead, we are asking for an everlasting bond between the divine and us. When the Siddha's Nadi was waiting to be dropped in our hands, we chose to hear him speak to us directly without having to read or have another read and translate their words. When others crave to lead missions, establishments, societies, etc we shunned from these offers and gifts knowing pretty well that with these come power, authority and responsibility that bring on its fair share of troubles, corruption, and inflation of the ego. Having refused to accept them, Agathiyar reveals to us today that it was all laid before us to test how far-reaching were our desires and to ascertain the level of determination to stay on the path of righteousness and seek further the greater frontiers, rather than settle for these goodies. Just when we thought that we have passed the test, Agathiyar tells us that there is more test to come our way. Looks like traveling the path of the Siddhas, one has to continuously be on the lookout for both the obstacles and the goodies laid along the path.
I suppose the wishes of Agathiyar is to see us germinate, bloom and develop into one of their kind, internally, rather than putting on the garb of a Siddha, heading an organization and performing Siddhis for all to see. Suren, Mahin, and Malar understood where we are headed with Suren putting it into words wonderfully.
Agathiyar is so humble and with full compassion . The person who gave Lord Rama with mantra can also guide humans like us. That shows his humilty and compassion towards mankind and how much he can bring down himself just for our sake. Agathiyar who has been here for 4 yuga, never ever brushed off anyone who is new to this path. He has been always motivating to make sure we can also experience God one day. Not once he has pin pointed on how much difference lies between him and us. He has only mentioned how much we have progressed. Like how parents who will clap hands for their infants for simple efforts and achievement, thats how Agathiyar is guiding and motivating us from behind even though our achivement might not be as big as him and that also due to his blessings. That shows his humility. Whatever he have asked his devotees to do is for the betterment of the devotees and not for any of his personal gains.
In case a communication need to be set between us and him for a favor, wouldn't be begging to him is a better way to approach him rather then complaining or demanding to him. What rights could we have to complain or demand when he we are the one who is indebted to him.
We always seek him with many wishes. Why not one day, one of our wish to him is to become like him, humble as him, compassionate as him, inteligent as him. Whenever Agathiyar has something to say to his devotees he always wish and shows his gratitude to the lord or to his guru first. The way Agathiyar handles his disciples and devotees and how much respect he has for the lords and his guru are so captivating that he can be a good role model for anyone.
As a guru he has done his part. As a devotee, its our part to talk about his contributions and greatness rather then saying how much he has said and praise about us. The first person who we should say all that is to he himself and hopefuly he will be happy that we have have been always grateful to him.
Agathiyar has always praised us and his disciples but never has he praised himself nor has he told us what hurdles and effort he took to fulfill our wishes.
The way he manage all his devotess, the respect he has for the lords and gurus, the way he explain about something on a different tone, on a difference level of depth which suits the people who listens it. He knows that we are in maya and wordly affairs but he still open his eyes and guide us in this worldly affairs.
I remember having read someone mention that never do anything that your guru disapproves. What a sound message this is. By taking heed of this simple instruction we shall stay away from all troubles. Beyond this, we then take on the character of our guru and not take on his role or garb. In instances where we cannot bring ourselves to break a behavior that began as a habit and soon formed our character, chiseled into the rock for good, we turn to the guru to accept our faults and weaknesses as guna or character and pardon us, just as the many saints have begged of him.
P.Karthigayan says that the soul is the bridge between the body and the spirit. If the body is the vehicle, then the soul can be considered as the executor and the spirit akin to the commander - in - charge. It comes with several well-defined and established desires to be experienced in the physical realm. These desires arise at the soul level before it sees daylight through the physical and mental faculties that it takes on to establish, work out and experience these desires. Along the way, it takes on added desires prompted by the senses and its surroundings, often losing its sense of direction and forgetting the course it is supposed to take. It becomes deviated from its original course. Then there are other's desires shoved on us. The soul takes on all the impressions in life.
The Siddhas through the Nadi come to remind us of our objectives in taking birth and in life. They come to take the rein and lead us, taking control of the situation, often saving us from plunging further into the abyss of darkness. Agathiyar always tells us that he only sees our souls. In the event, we stand before him for guidance, he scans through us and communicates with our soul. He respects each soul and its decisions. Even if we desire a thing or a solution, he engages with our soul and only agrees to bless our undertaking, after seeking to know the desire of the soul within.
It is only when we act separate from our souls that we lend ourselves into trouble. The senses veil the soul. We hardly connect to our souls. We do not know exactly what our soul desires or other souls for the matter. We establish what we want in life without having even an inkling of what our soul seeks. We are firmly attached to our senses and fall a victim to its ploy. Thomas Moore in his book "Care of the Soul", HarperCollins Publishers, 1992, says, "It's easy for consciousness to become lodged in the material world and to forget spirituality" so the soul then becomes neglected, for the physical body takes precedence and importance. The ego taints the soul and drives it away from its objectives. In doing charity too do we not see a slight empowering of the ego that we are the doer? If one were to realize that even the money that he earns comes from the benignness of the Lord, then the philanthropist would just give and keep giving without thinking that the aid was from him.
In "The Soul of Man", Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras, Swami Ramakrishnananda, describes the journey of the soul, from being an ordinary person to become a caring person and later turning divine in nature.
Thus the man of charity gives up all his philanthropists works as he detects his blind ego behind all his actions, he dives deeper and deeper within himself in search of the lord of infinite love, and never stops till he realizes him in the region of his heart.
The only time the ego leaves us is when we are asleep and arises upon awakening to the daily routine of activities. The ego in the first three centers leads man towards fulfilling his aspirations in the material world. Swami Ramakrishnananda enlightens us explaining that the ego that resides in the three lower centers or chakras as man, when brought to be seated in its true seat in one's heart chamber, realizes itself as the soul and makes room for God to come within and share the seat. Coming into the heart chakra he opens up to the needs of others and the call of the divine that takes an equal seat with him in his heart's chambers. Overcoming the senses, the ego that maketh the man now realizes itself to be the soul.
Swami Ramakrishnananda explains further that all of man's previous energies which he used to dissipate before in vain search after pleasure gather themselves up in the third center or Manipura and man is gradually lifted up towards the region of the heart. He quotes from the Katha Upanishad 6.16, "Thus we learn from our ancient sages one hundred and one canals have emanated from the heart. One of them has gone beyond the cerebrum piercing through it. When a man goes up by that he comes immortal. Other canals going in various directions cause repeated births and deaths." This mystery can be reflected in simple terms as does Lord Krishna speak in the Gita 7.3, "One man out of thousands struggles to attain salvation, and out of many such great men who struggle to be saved, one knows my true nature."
Swami Ramakrishnananda writes further that in the heart alone the unmanifested being of infinite power manifests himself as soul and ego.
In the recess of the heart are both soul and God for so the Vedas declare. (Brahma sutras 1.2.3.)
Tavayogi very aptly wrote the following when I asked him to autograph his book "Andamum Pindamum". "Aandavan Uraigindra Edam Thangal Ullam, Athuve Payanathin Thodakkamum, Mudivum" when translated meant, "Erai lives in your heart, from where the journey starts and ends too."
Ramana is quoted in https://hridaya-yoga.com/hridaya-yoga-articles/what-is-hridaya-the-spiritual-heart/.
According to Ramana Maharshi, the great Advaita master, “The godly atom of the Self is to be found in the right chamber of the heart, about one finger-width’s distance from the body’s midline. Here lies the Heart, the dynamic Spiritual Heart. It is called hridaya, is located on the right side of the chest, and is clearly visible to the inner eye of an adept on the Spiritual Path. Through meditation you can learn to find the Self in the cave of this Heart. What is essential in any sadhana (spiritual practice) is to try to bring back the running mind and fix it on one thing only. Why then should it not be brought back and fixed in Self-attention (to this feeling of ‘I’)? That alone is Self-enquiry (atma vichara). That is all that is to be done!”
Sages like Ramana Maharshi affirm that the awareness of the Supreme Infinite cannot be localized at a certain place in the body and that in the state of divine expansion, of diving into the divine ocean of Consciousness, we can no longer speak of a head, arms, body, and other areas. However, Ramana says that in the moment of returning to the consciousness of the physical body, when we regain awareness of our physical body, a memory endures of that state and it appears to be connected to the area of the physical heart, in the middle of the chest, slightly to the right. That Divine Infinity can easily be found again by centering in the region of the heart.
When we withdraw the senses (pratyahara) and center ourselves in the chest area, looking for the deepest aspects of our being, we start to search “the interior” to the detriment of “the exterior.” In this way, we pass from the usual “conquering” attitude of the mind to a receptive, contemplative disposition. It is a kind of surrender, which implies lucidity, discernment, vigilance.
“God is born in the Heart and the Heart is born in God,” as the great Christian mystic Meister Eckhart said. This vision leads us to understand that there is nothing to be searched in the interior or exterior. God is already there. In Christian spirituality, and for the Fathers of the Desert, the Heart is not simply a physical organ, but is the spiritual center of the human’s being, his deepest and truest self, or the inner shrine, to be entered only through the sacrifice of individuality, in which the mystery of the union between the divine and the human is consummated. “The intellect of the Heart” does not function by formulating abstract concepts and does not reach conclusion through deductive reason. It understands Divine Truth by means of immediate experience or intuition. In the domain of the Heart, most of us are somewhat or entirely illiterate. The Heart knows through surrender, trust, and joy. Coming back to the Heart, all the vain noise of the world is quieted….The Heart is a sanctuary of silence. There, in the most sacred intimacy and solitude of the “cave of the Heart”, the moods of individuality fade away and the consciousness of unity is revealed. There, the world and man are one. So, in a paradoxical way, the solitude and intimacy of the Heart reveals the essential Unity of all existence.
Swami Ramakrishnananda writes, "For what is God? God is bliss." He quotes Sri Ramakrishna.
As long as man remains outside the lotus of his heart he has to wander in search of pleasure in vain, but once he goes inside it and tastes the nectar of divine communion all his wanderings cease once for all.
Realizing God in the heart he is in a state of bliss. "What indescribable bliss comes to him when his soul is in direct communion with God!", he asks. He moves to the next chakra.
He finds his true father, true mother, a true friend and true lover in him, and can never turn his eyes away from him. He has found out his true home at last. His mind cannot think of anything else at that time. His mouth cannot talk anything else than of his beloved. He has gone up to the fifth center, the Visuddha chakra, or the center of absolute purity (that of singleness or oneness with the divine, occupied by the oneness or idea of God and talks about only him and nothing else, where God remains eternally bound to him).
Swami Ramakrishnananda explains that when once he goes to this center he has no inclination to come down but only go further up to the sixth chakra Ajna chakra where he sees God directly before him. He is said to be fully merged in love with his divine, that only two factors can bring them apart now - if his previous karma drags him down or unless he has previously determined to come down.
Only when we take several knockings after falling for the lure of this world we turn our sight to the divine seeking solace and solution. "Just as the mind digests ideas and produces intelligence, the soul feeds on life and digests it, creating wisdom and character out of the fodder of experience," Moore adds. "The soul needs an intense full-bodied spiritual life as much as and in the same way that the body needs food." This is what Agathiyar, Ma and Aiya have been repeatedly telling us too.
As Moore writes further, "Renaissance Neoplatonist said that the outer world serves as a means of deep spirituality and that the transformation of ordinary experience into the stuff of soul is all-important", the soul comes to learn and grow from its experiences. The spirit of God is in all things and we learn to pick up the essence of these individual spirits in his creation. Having collected sufficient experience for it to grow, the soul then it shifts into a silent mode contemplating on all that it had absorbed and begins to digest them while in solitude. Having done with the absorption, it takes on a new perspective of the world and returns to address the world and its issues from a different angle, and to educate others on true living, sharing the wisdom gained from its period of hibernation and silent contemplation. They become gurus in the eyes of others. This is applicable to those who come to a realization of the impermanence of life. For those who fail to accept aging and death, they are confronted with the slow and life-changing disabilities that old age brings on. As Moore says "Growing old is one of the ways the soul nudges itself into attention to the spiritual aspect of life", the soul reminds them then that life is to come to an end. "If one does not move one's soul life further during one's physical life it is a great pity", writes Dr. Zhi Gang Sha in his book "The Power of Soul", Atria Paperback, NY, 2009.
"In one life you may learn many lessons and you will gain some wisdom from them. In hundreds of lifetimes, you will learn many lessons but you will gain much more wisdom. Your soul will gain more and more intelligence. A soul has intelligence in all its lifetimes. A soul has wisdom and knowledge in all its lifetimes. Your soul is the greatest resource for your intelligence. To realize this is the first step. To receive soul intelligence, wisdom and knowledge to transform your life is the second step. To develop your soul intelligence, wisdom and knowledge further is the third step."
These were told to us too recently. Lord Muruga asks that we open the heart and let him in. Agathiyar told to abstain from the institutions, groups, and its related activities and dwell within, telling me it was enough. Agathiyar helps us connect with our souls. He brings the soul's wants and desires to the forefront expecting us to listen to the soul talk to us. Each soul has come to play its part in his divine lila. The divine never messes in its life and its decisions nor in the execution of its actions. There is a piece of very intelligent machinery in place that executes this divine play or lila. R.Venu Gopalan writes in his "The Hidden Mystery of Kundalini", Heath Harmony, 2001,
After completing the cycle of all the eighty four lakh yonies the soul takes rest in the purest heart of the Lord himself. To keep the soul from accumulating the burden of piousness and sin, Lord himself decides on the concept of repaying back all that is taken and all that is to be given so that when the soul rejoins with him it is pure.
For those few who have a calling or desire to break asunder the veil of illusion, they are inclined towards a life of worthwhile living, making attempts to break the Maya that envelopes the soul. P. Thirugnanasambandhan in his "The Concept of Bhakti" published by the University of Madras, 1971, leads us into an understanding of the soul and its evolvement or rather detachment from all previous actions and the thought of being the doer.
The soul inspired by the highest goal of communion with God passes gradually from one stage of spiritual enlightenment to another. Starting from the first rung of the ladder, as the servant of God, the soul practices Carya, consisting in external duties such as cleaning and lighting God's temples, adorning the images of God with garlands, praising God and attending to the needs of devotees. For these deeds the soul is rewarded with Saloka or dwelling in the region of God.
From being a servant, the soul in the Kriya stage becomes a son of God, and renders more intimate service than before, such as invoking God's presence, serving him with love and praise and other acts of service like Sivapuja, besides attending to the burning of incense, collecting flowers etc. the reward for service of this type is Samipya or dwelling near God.
In the next stage of Yoga, the Sakha Marga the soul becomes the friend of God and thus is nearer God. Withdrawing its senses from the material objects, it concentrates on the contemplation of Siva. This is rewarded by Sarupya, which is to have the same form as Siva but not the essence.
The soul has to progress further in the Jnana Marga to reach the final goal of Sayujya from where there is no return. Sayujya is a state of union of God and soul, a mysterious union of either, so that God and soul exist with their respective attributes, the former as the source of bliss and the latter as the recipient of the same.
When it is time for him to depart, the soul that has gathered all these memories leaves its body, its memories now shelved as Akashic records. The spirit seeks out its parent house or source from whence it came.
When I told Tavayogi of my desire to see Agathiyar and Ramalinga Adigal in the early days of my tutorship to him, he told me that they shall easily appear but asked me if that was what I wanted implying that there is more to asks for. Recently out of gratitude for Agathiyar I told him that I desire to come back again and again to serve him. He put a similar question to me, "Is that what you want ?" that made me reflect in silence. He implies that there is more to this journey. This reminds me of the story of the three seekers who made it to the walls of the kingdom of God. The first seeker grabs the ladder perched against the wall and climbs it hurriedly in eagerness and anticipation of what he would see beyond the walls. Once on top of the ledge of the wall, his face lights up and he plunges over the side of the wall into the inner courtyard, without even looking back at the congregation that had by now gathered behind him. The next seeker climbs the ladder and reaches the top. He exclaims in joy and shouts out to the others what he sees over the wall. He too takes the plunge. The third seeker goes up the ladder, perches on the top, tells the rest about what he saw, disappears beyond the wall only to return to the folks he left behind with the news and his experience while in the kingdom of God. Swami Ramakrishnananda retells this story as told by Sri Ramakrishna. Four friends determined to search for the land of bliss came across a very high wall, that checked their onward course. Nevertheless, they were determined to scale it. They secured some iron spikes that they drove fast onto the sides of the wall, one above the other, forming a ladder. The first to climb the wall was determined to come down the ladder after seeing what was beyond the walls. But on arriving at the top he went into a state of ecstasy and jumped over the wall. The second and third men shared the same fate too. The last man to climb saw the land of bliss, something that he had toiled for in all his many past births, although he had a great desire to jump in too joining his friends, he remembered suddenly the hopeless plight of many others searching for this holy land. He resisted the temptation to jump over the wall but instead returned to carry the good news of his discovery of the land of bliss to the rests of the yearning souls. He continued to work for the spiritual well being of humanity, even working for the handful few ungrateful souls who inflicted misery upon them. Which seeker would we want to be?
These days Agathiyar tells us often that it is all his play. Accept and move on, he says. Go with the flow as Lao Tzu says. Just be the watcher and not the participant unless directed by the divine to intervene, something Agathiyar is telling me to do too these days.
Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal listens to the problems of those who seek him in private and would reveal that their sufferings, delay, illness etc were due to their past karma or vinai. Then if they accept this idea and ask him how to clear their karma, he would show them to worship or prayer. If they are interested to begin prayers, only then would he tell them to worship the Siddhas. At times he would point someone to the Nadi for further enlightenment on their purpose here. Agathiyar, the most bountiful and compassionate father, comes to enlighten those who sought him, revealing their karma which is the cause of their pain, suffering, and troubles and explaining its effects, clearing the path and bringing relief to the tired soul by proposing remedies and other measures.
We followed in the footsteps of Tavayogi showing others to do charity and prayers to Siddhas if they came with problems. Tavayogi told me to be professional about it, not to give in to the urge to indulge in advising others, which I did and caught myself in a web of trouble, unknowingly. He asked me to only show them to Agathiyar and step back, as he does. Let them pour their troubles to him. Let him advise rather than us. Many years later he told me that "Give only this much according to the vessel", implying that share, impart or give your knowledge only if there is someone to receive and absorb."
Then when someone turned up at my door with a whole hell of troubles and problems, I told them the same. But they reply that they have already done all that I prescribed from the book. They had been very charitable and religious. But their family business collapsed and they had come to the streets. Why has not their sufferings gone away? Now I am riddled. I am puzzled. The formula did not work in their case. Their suffering continues to this day and we are helpless.
A devotee was hit by a car as she crossed the street after visiting a temple. Someone who endlessly spent his time rebuilding old torn down temples was killed in a tragic accident. Another philanthropist who went out to offer to build several Siva temples lost everything. What is then the cause of their sudden death, fall or continued suffering then? When people come with their domestic problems, and health issues we readily provide them with a solution and an SOP to follow. What about those few who have done their share to society and their faith? Why are they in distress now?
I had sat and spent many hours piecing the puzzles together. Thinking that I have solved it and going into a frenzy claiming to others that I have solved life's puzzles and I have all the answers to every question out there, just when you think you have the answers to life's questions he breaks it. Just when you are becoming comfortable with an answer or idea, he shatters it. He is shattering and breaking every hypothesis, analysis, understanding, and reasoning. I lay the pieces of puzzles in front of all those who come along and ask them to piece them together watching from a distance. When they give up I pick up the pieces and show them how it is done, for I have done it earlier. I groom others using the same puzzle pieces year in and year out. I stagnate. So do my followers. Today I am grateful to him for breaking all the ideas, notions, or answers that I have held on to. Imagine if he does not do that, I would be dishing out the same formula that worked on so many to those who keep coming. If divine does not break the puzzle I shall be living in a comfort zone, servicing people with the standard procedures and they are not going to raise their intelligence anytime.
Life is beautiful in the sense that it brings us to face challenges each day, enriching us. Imagine if you are going to work the same puzzle day in day out, you would become deadwood. Finally, I admitted to Agathiyar that I did not understand a thing and I chose not to. What I cherish is to be in his shadows and serving him all my life. That is enough.
