When words and writings can be manipulated, edited, left out, or altered how can we place much emphasis on them? How sure can we be that what was given in the past has been retained and handed over to us untouched, and in one piece? In coming to us yesterday during the Satsang he called for, Ramalinga Adigal asked that we do not interpret the meanings of his songs and for that matter the songs of the other Siddhas too. Read it as it is and over time he shall enlighten us, he told us.
Much has changed over time with customs and traditions too. Much has changed or in fact, never entered into the worlds hidden from the eyes and manipulative mind of the man seeking to control and rule. Speaking at the Satsang last evening a devotee who had returned from Kailash in 2011 opened up our minds to the truth that what applies in one place cannot apply in another, even the very tradition, custom, rituals, and practices. If we are trained from young to take a dip in the waters and make our way into the temples and the males stand before the stone statues shirtless, can we possibly do the same in Kailash he asked? There is no temple. No statues. We stand in the open and salute the majestic mountain in the cold weather. We will have frostbite if we remove our clothes and shoes. We will freeze in the cold waters if we take a dip. There is no security net to break our fall if we slip. There is no warranty that we would return alive. The air there is thinner as we climb further up. We have to reserve energy and speak only if necessary. All else is possible in the comfort of our home ground but as we enter new terrain it is a matter of survival. Faith drives us and keeps us going. So what we practice and the mode of worship in lower altitudes varies or rather cannot be applied at higher altitudes. The rules are bent here or in the first place, are there any rules at all in these places where we are one with nature? It is pretty obvious that man has manipulated us and laid all the rules to contain and discipline him.
Even the Siddhas are known to bend the rules at times as this devotee stated that they were forever politically correct. Indeed we feel that they do play the political game too, balancing the act, manipulating man and his scenarios, playing a divine game, moving the chess pieces, and many more.
If Agathiyar listed a long list of do's in my daughter's Nadi reading to cushion the effects of her past karma, Tavayogi struck off the list telling me it was not necessary. When a devotee was asked to go over to India and carry out her remedies, as she was not able to travel due to financial constraints Agathiyar switched the remedy and asked that she feed the hungry here in Malaysia. If his guru Chitramuthu Adigal wanted us to conduct a Siddha puja at a temple for Lord Murugan in Taiping waterfalls on a Thursday, passing on his wish through Agathiyar in a Nadi reading for a devotee, due to our inability to carry it out on a weekday and request to do it on a Sunday, and mentioning it to Tavayogi, he gave us the green light telling us that he shall speak to "them".
When I met Tavayogi the very first time and told him that Agathiyar wanted me to come to the worship of the Siddhas, Tavayogi who was in Malaysia to officiate a local affiliate of his Kallar ashram told me to frequent the place and learn from those who started the organization. But Agathiyar switched my path and had me report directly to Tavayogi instead asking me to spend several days at his ashram in India and learn a thing or two from him.
When me and my wife started puja at home Agathiyar began to send strangers over. They would slowly open up cans of worms and spill the beans sharing their disappointments with certain establishments, sharing their sufferings, problems, failures, etc. As we were good listeners, trouble brewed when we made the mistake of giving them solutions. Speaking to Tavayogi over the phone he gave me a slap in the face asking why I had to interfere. Instead, he asked that I show them to Agathiyar. We followed his advice and asked Agathiyar to stop sending people over. Agathiyar listened at least for a while. Soon he made me realize that in no way was my family harmed. He was only using us and our venue to engage and help those whom he chose to see. We gave in and people started coming. Lord Murugan in a Nadi reading said the same too asking us to step aside and watch their divine play. The deities began to come down in devotees and in our homes. One fine day as I stood before Agathiyar's statue at home, he asked me what I would do if he were to shut his ears to my pleas and asking? Later my daughter told me that she believed Agathiyar was listening to her friend's health issues that she shared with me. Indeed when Mahindren and I were on the phone asking each other if we should ask for Gnanam the next time Agathiyar comes asking us what we wanted, Agathiyar in coming again told me that I had asked for Gnanam. When my wife and I traveled back from a coastal town to the city found that the network and signals were not strong in the interiors and had to hang up the telephone call to a devotee, Agathiyar eavesdropped on our conversation and answered our questions when he came later. Agathiyar would intrude into my conversation on Skype with Jnana Jothiamma and engage with her leaving me to wonder why the line went silent.
We have come to learn that there was this rapport and bond between the guru and the disciple as we saw between Agathiyar and Tavayogi where they could come to an understanding and mend the ways or suggestions and have us follow something more appropriate for that moment in time.
As man is governed by time and space and while the Siddhas are beyond its hold, one wonders how they could come across to us, if there was a bridge or a portal between both worlds. When the devotee stood holding on to the face of Mount Kailash and placed his fingers into a hole said to be the belly button of the universe, his mother in Malaysia had a vision of a torch of light akin to a finger touching her belly. Supramania Swami closed off a window opening that had the holy mountain Arunachala in full view at his kudil with a gunny sack telling me that he could no longer see the fiery mountain. He could see Siddhas, Rishis, and Munis going about their work on the mountain. Bhagawan Ramana is said to have entered an opening in the face of Arunachala mountain stepping onto a meadow of green grass and blue skies above in the hollow of the sacred mountain. He had the opening shut later. When Isakhi Siddhar came to a youth who was caring for a run-down Shiva temple in Tiruvanamalai he entered a crack in the wall in the inner sanctum inviting the youth to join him. The youth panicked and let go of the Siddha's hand. I had always considered stepping atop the Palani hill temple as stepping into the Twilight Zone after comparing my first, second, and third visits there in 2003, 2005, and 2016 respectively. If I had stepped away from Lord Murugan's sannadhi in 2003, not seeing nor remembering how he looked like, into a dark corridor and peering into a room exactly behind his sannadhi, asking if it was Bhogar's samadhi and invited in and given a tumbler of milk to drink that brought on a state of bliss, in 2005 following Tavayogi and my brother, we stepped away from the Lord's shrine into the open air again not seeing nor remembering his face, and walked some distance to climb a couple of steps into a brightly lit corridor that had murals of Bhogar's life events painted on its walls. We received the milk again. In 2016 traveling with the AVM family we were ushered into another entrance and shown Lord Murugan in the natural lighting. We came down a few steps and made our way into a separate building that housed Bhogar's samadhi which was brightly lit in natural light. Now where was I, I asked myself all three times. Did I enter a different portal each time? It seems like a scene from Marvel's "Dr. Strange". How can we possibly fathom these miracles? And the Siddhas are not revealing these keeping them a dark secret.
When someone who frequented our home puja asked why we should praise the Siddhas, I asked him why not? If those in politics heap praise on their political leaders, fans heap praise on their favorite stars and musicians, and if followers heap praise on their religious and spiritual leaders, and if in heaping praises we adopt their thoughts and ideologies and raise ours to equal their heights and achievements and, as Tavayogi says in heaping praises to God we become God. Unlike others Tavayogi diverted us to praise God instead of him. He always saw himself only as a tool and not a path or a ride to hitch on. He never portrayed himself as God but instead remained his subject and humble servant, tool, and medium to get the message of the Siddhas across. Agathiyar and Lobhama told us that Supramania Swami, Tavayogi, and all the upagurus and practices given were tools. Coming to us they showed themselves as Shivan and Sakthi which gave rise to the entire Prapanjam. Tavayogi substantiates this statement by quoting Supramaniar Gnanam 32 where it is revealed that at the beginning there was Sivan. From it emerged a sound. The vibration that resulted was Sakti.
Annie Besant in her talks on "The Laws of the Higher Life", the Theosophical Publishing House, 1903, explains the transformation of the gross body to that of a subtler nature, a return to the source.
"The self gathers around it upadhi upon upadhi, vehicle after vehicle, gradually shaping its own instruments. Here we see a consciousness that shapes bodies according to their needs, gradually refining them and bringing them under the control of the higher. The brain has to be changed, refined and improved, and its connecting links fashioned and manufactured for the purposes of the expression of the higher consciousness. Here, in the jungle, they meditated making the brain tense and refined by the concentration of the mind, and restraint of lower faculties, fixed in rapt attention on the higher, with the consciousness working from above playing on the physical brain and tuning it to respond safely to the higher vibrations. Then it strove to draw the lower upwards (as Tavayogi says of our efforts that are only till the first two initial stages, Muladhara and Svadisthana) until it answered no longer to the stimuli of the outer world. This is a state of yoga - complete withdrawal of the consciousness from the Indriyas. Now making the mind steady, holding quiet the powers of the mind, the mind ceases to vibrate, and it becomes still - able to answer the vibrations coming from above.
She wrote in "Avatara-s", The Theosophical Publishing House, 2002, that,
"... inasmuch as the body is an instrument we have to use, a certain treatment of the body is necessary so that we may turn our footsteps in the direction of the Path. The body alone will never take us to the heights we aspire to, yet to neglect it will make it impossible for us to attempt those heights at all. ... The body needs to be refined, to be improved, to be molded into such a form and made of such constituents as may best fit it to be the instrument on the physical plane for man's highest purposes."
She writes further, ".. in deciding to purify his body, he will begin at once to select the materials from which the new body is to be built," Hence the question of diet will present itself. He will start "excluding food that will build into his body particles which are impure and polluting."
As for the choice of diet, she aptly puts it when she suggests we show who is master, saying, "You do not intend your life's purpose to be thwarted by the mere instrument that is yours to use. Make the change and as you get rid of the particles that crave these impurities; you will feel your body altering its habits and revolting against the very smell of the things that it used to enjoy." She says, "The more we refine the body the more acute the physical senses become."
"... the purification of the dense body then, consists in a process of deliberate selection of the particles permitted to compose it; the man will take into it the way of food the purest constituents he can obtain, rejecting the impure and the gross.... by natural change the particles built into it in the days of his careless living will gradually pass away, at least within seven years - although the process may be considerably hastened."
She cautions us if we want to engage in yoga with an impure diet and body, "You must begin to purify the body before you attempt to practice any yoga worthy of the name. For real yoga is as dangerous to an impure and undisciplined body as a match to a cask of gunpowder."
Annie Besant in "Avatara-s", The Theosophical Publishing House, 2002, wrote,
"How would you learn right if you knew not wrong? How would you choose good if you knew not evil? How would you recognize the light if there were no darkness? How would you move if there were no resistance? The forces that are dark, the forces of the rakshasas, of the asuras, of all that seems to be working against Isvara, these are the forces that call out the inner strength of the self in man, by struggling with which the forces of Atma within the man are developed and without which he would remain in Pralaya forevermore. Isvara must draw out men's forces by pulling against their strength making them struggle in order to attain and so vivifying into outer manifestation the life that otherwise would remain enfolded in itself."
She says that "if everything around us was smooth and easy, we would remain supine, lethargic and indifferent." Just as Tavayogi tells us that we will never come to a realization if we do not receive blows from the whip, she too says that "it is the whip of pain, of the suffering, of disappointment that drives us onward and brings out the forces of our internal life which otherwise would remain undeveloped."
"In this universe, there is no evil; all is good that comes to us from Isvara but it sometimes comes in the guise of evil that by opposing it we may draw out our strength. Then we begin to understand that these forces are necessary and that they are within the plan of Isvara. There is only one will in the universe the will of Isvara and all must conform themselves to that will, all are conditioned by that will, and all must move according to that will."
There is order in nature writes Annie Besant in her book "The Laws of the Higher Life". What is seen as a natural disaster had its making going back in time before it actually shows itself openly. For instance, she writes, ".. there is nothing more disorderly in the outburst of a volcano than there is in the slow growth of the sea-bottom, until at last, after tens of thousands of years, that bottom becomes a range of mountains... The one was thought orderly, the other cataclysmic."
She says that the law of nature unlike the laws of man that keep changing and varies from country and state to state, is a statement: "If such and such conditions are present, such and such results will happen. If the conditions change the results will change with them." This is the law of Prapanjam.
Knowing this truth she says "You can work with absolute certainty of results." These laws apply if and when we are ignorant of them. But "those same laws become our servants, our helpers, and our uplifters when knowledge has replaced ignorance." Just as the Siddhas have gained this divine knowledge or Gnanam, and rather than take control or imprison, rape or plunder nature, worked in tandem with them, Annie writes the same, "Know the law, obey it, work with it, and it lifts you up with its infinite strength and carries you to the goal that you desired to reach. ... the Law becomes a savior when known and understood... be ignorant of them, and your efforts will be frustrated and all your endeavors will be as though they had not been." True to the word Agathiyar revealed that as a result of the karma that stood in my way, all my noble endeavors did not bear fruit.
Just as Lao Tzu asked to go with the flow, Annie asks us to work with them and not against them in another book of hers titled "Karma". She says "All forces in nature can be used in proportion as they are understood." She adds that, "All accident is the result of ignorance, and is due to the working of laws whose presence was unknown or overlooked... Nature can never betray us. We are betrayed by our own blindness."
If we think out of ignorance that this physical body was ours to use as we wish to fulfill our wishes and desires and to enjoy the pleasures of life, contrary to this common belief, Annie reminds us that "the gross body serves the consciousness for its work on the physical plane." Bharathi too realized that when he did God's work things fell into place as opposed to frustration that resulted in chasing his dreams. Now I understand why Agathiyar in remaining aloof and indifferent to some of my askings, is making me stronger. In asking me to tolerate them he is making me stronger.
Man in evolving spiritually moves up the ladder of evolution. Annie Besant writes of this state, in "The Laws of the Higher Life".
"..loftier and sublimer region where the inner law takes the place of of the law of outer obligation, where instead of duty, which means the payment of a debt, there is sacrifice, which is the outpouring of life, where everything is done gladly, everything is done willingly, in perfect self-surrender, .. where he works because the divine outwelling finds its channel in his life, and needs no outer compulsion because of the perfection of the inner law." She says that after this stage he grows further, becoming a channel of the divine outpouring.
Tavayogi told us that in investigating the Pindam or body one can arrive at the knowledge of the Andam or universe. In holding the end one can reach the beginning. Unlike holding on to the concept of linear, in "News of the World" a young girl who teaches Tom Hanks some words in Kiowa and their beliefs describes the earth, and the sky, with a spirit, and breath, as all a circle. Tom tells her "For us, it's more like a straight line. We are all journeying across the prairies. Straight line. And looking for that place to be. And when we find it we go straight out and plow it and we plant it all in a straight line."
Similarly, now we understand why Agathiyar and Ramalinga Adigal kept telling us to read Tavayogi's book on the tattvas. From understanding the tattvas that maketh this body, working backward, one understands the source. As the body is relative to the universe around us, a study of the former will justify a study of the cosmos too. Tavayogi gives us an idea of how creation took place in his "Andamum Pindamum" and "Atma Thathuvam". He quotes Supramaniar Gnanam 32 where it is revealed that at the beginning there was Sivan. From it emerged a sound. The vibration that resulted was Sakti. This first vibration created from the first sound was known as Akaaram. The vibratory waves that sustained this first sound came to be called Ukaaram. Maakaaram was the field that helped contain these vibratory sounds. The three came together as "that", which was to become the source of all creation, known as AUM. From that sound emerged Sivam or a spark, light, (or the divine spirit, says P.Karthigayan), neither with a form nor formless.
பரமாணுவினால் பஞ்சபூதம் உண்டானது. இவ்வுலகம் ஐம் பெரும் பூத அணுக்களால் ஆனது. இந்த ஐம்பூத அணுக்களில் உள்ள ஒவ்வொரு அணுவிலும் 96 தத்துவங்கள் அமைந்துள்ளன. இந்த தத்துவங்களே மனித சரீரத்தில் செயல்படுகின்றன. From the first atom, the Paramanu, the Panchabhutam, or 5 others, came forth, writes Tavayogi. The world emerged from these 5 atoms coming together. Each atom carried 96 Tattvas. These Tattvas function in our bodies too.
From https://www.ananda.org/yogapedia/aum/ we learn the same that "AUM is the vibration by which the Supreme Spirit brings all things into manifestation. Paramhansa Yogananda has explained that everything - all matter, all energy, all thoughts - exists in AUM." We read further that "AUM, therefore, encompasses the three vibratory energies required to create, preserve, and destroy, and each of these energies vibrates at a different frequency. The three letters of AUM represent these three vibrations inherent in creation.
In A, U, M there is an emergence as in "A", followed by sustenance as in "U" and an end as in "M" to all acts and movements. In the context of Yogam, it is interesting to note that Akaaram is linked to the left eye and Ukaaram to the right. Tavayogi explains that the breath that flows through the left nostril is known as Akaaram and that running through the right nostril is Ukaaram, creating vibrations in Edaikalai and Pingalai respectively. These Nadis vibrate creating further ripple-like vibrations, called Maakaaram, in the midst of the head. The spot where these three sounds and their related vibrations congregate is known as Suzhumunai. Agathiyar warns us that initiation into a mantra has to be given only after the flow of the breath in the nostrils is ascertained in the receiver. He tells us to hold our breath in Kumbakam long enough to chant the first Diksa mantra.
As we are part of the universe too, the physical body resonates with these vibrations, functioning effectively. Agathiyar tells us that he is this very vibration. To connect with the Prapanjam one has to rise to this state of vibration. It is a journey back home to the source. Since one formula would not work out for all of humanity the wise of the olden days had us engage in Sariyai, Kriyai, and Yogam to arrive finally at the state of Gnanam. The Siddhas are there to lend a hand to us to cross this river of ignorance and bring us ashore to the kingdom of truth. Gnanam is the dawn of divine knowledge that burns all our earlier readings and false knowledge to ashes, recreating truth from these ashes. The tattvas are the bridge to this knowledge. Once we reach the other shore the bridge is burned down. Agathiyar and Lobama in coming to us recently did just that. Showing us Prapanjam they stood beyond it and in it as Shivan and Shakti. They made us realize that what exists in truth is Verumai or Nothingness. All else was an illusion or Maya.
The divine creation sustained its creations only to destroy them. Enveloping this realization was a veil that had to be shredded to pieces. Only the grace of the divine shall come to remove this veil and bring on enlightenment. One then settles in enlightenment becoming both the knower and existence. He is the very expanse in which all creation exists. He is creation itself.
The mountain is back to being a mountain. The journey is ending where it started. We have come one full circle. Ramalinga Adigal has asked me to call for a Satsang tomorrow telling me that "It all started at AVM. Let it end at AVM."
My granddaughter had asked her mother where did God come from and who was the first God? Today I sat with her trying to explain this concept that Tavayogi put through in his book "Andamum Pindamum" about the origin of the sound Pranavam OM or AUM. From the first sound "A" that expanded to "U" and ends in "M" all of creation began as a result of this very first vibration in that space Vetta Vezhi or Suniyam or as Agathiyar termed this emptiness or void as Verumai or Nothingness days ago. From this Pranava mantra AUM all other mantras came forth and took the forms we know today. Asking my granddaughter if she understood she replied that she did not. Then I told her that was why man made gods in his image. Reading out her favourite hymn Kandhar Sasthi Kavasam I went through the lines detailing and describing Lord Murugan. I told her God was simplified for us so that we would understand the concept initially and move on to discover the truth later as we mature spiritually. When his subjects could not understand the concept of Arutperunjothi, Ramalinga Adigal gave them the oil lamp he had used to lighten up his room to worship believing that it would be a good start. Then we spoke about birth and how she came about. Then we spoke about death. Eventually, I told her that the breath was God, just as Tavayogi had told me. We are alive because of the breath traveling in and out. When the breath that comes in leaves again and never returns to the body that is death. When the breath that comes in comes to stay and never leaves the body that is Samadhi. I had a glimpse of that where the breath was in me and I was covered in earth. I was fully aware and had no fear as I knew the breath was within and I was alive.
Having us start worshiping the Siddhas and later bringing us to carry out rituals Agathiyar brought an end to it. Having us carry out Yoga practices he had us end that too. Having us engage in charity he brought that to a halt too. He had us stay aloof and later let go of all our dependence, attachments, and responsibilities by keeping us indoors. Coming to us through devotees he had us engage and connect with the Prapanjam. He has us sit in that space of Verumai or Nothingness telling us that all else was Mayai or an illusion.
Today he has us zip up too, at least once a week for a start. As Tavayogi used to say he could not imagine what else Agathiyar had in store for him, I too am in that spot. As for now, he has brought us to the teachings of Bhagawan Ramana that is beautifully captured in the songs of Sadhu Om.
It is amusing to see through the divine game. He has us grope in darkness and ignorance and have us hold on to things that are perishable and seen vaguely as the truth. Those who are strong-willed and are steadfast in their faith and listen to the divine call and words, upon understanding this game break away from the hold of Maya or illusion. They see the web of illusion spun with the torch that the divine lights first externally and later internally. His surrounding is seen clearly and he comes to distinguish the false and the real. He comes to understand the Laws of Nature.
Karma is so subtly interwoven in man's daily life, his worship and devotion. This cause-and-effect principle has an unseen domino effect that underlies every move and the very existence of all that is seen. Whatever sufferings others undergo is felt by us. Neale says that God in addressing him is addressing others too. It is not him as a singular who has this conversation with God but rather all of us in the plural. In "Conversation with God - Book 4", God tells him "An awakened species sees the unity of all life and lives into it." They know "experientially that there is only one thing and all things are part of the one. Because they exist in another dimension they can view the sub-molecular structure of all things. They observe that there is only one energy in the universe that is the source and force that mixes up the foundational elements of which it is comprised, adding and subtracting, creating all things in existence through alchemy, hence altering the vibrational frequency of these variously combined elements to generate differing expressions of the essential essence." We learn that "the elements are both conscious and make choices", in other words as Neale puts it, "consciousness exists at the elemental level."
Could this be the reason why early man and even some remote civilizations today still pay respect and homage and worship nature and everything around them, both living and dead, solid or liquid, seen and unseen?
Agathiyar is said to have fed "elements" in keeping creation or prapanjam alive. Could these elements be the Buthas or பூதம் that is said to reside and live in and of us? The food that Agathiyar eats is said to reach out to all of creation in a mysterious way that is yet to be decoded. The food that is served by Agathiyar to others appeases the hunger of all the elementals or Buthas within them. From https://blog.good-will.ch/WordPress/2010/10/23/rishi-agastya-a-little-miracle-and-some-stories/ we read how Agathiyar fed the elements by serving people food.
"Last week I came across a transcription of a seminar given by Sri Kumar in the Nilagiri Hills in 1996 about Agastya, Master Jupiter. ..... (He) is often traveling with his disciples and loves to cook and serve. Through serving food he likes to spread himself into the people and thus adjust any imbalances in the mental, emotional, and physical bodies."
As Yogi Ramsuratkumar is said to smoke to remove the karma of one sitting before him, the food that is to be served hot and steaming before the images and idols of Gods and Goddesses and deities, though not physically eaten, the steam is taken in relieving us of our karma. The food that is served to the hungry besides appeasing their hunger and keeping them alive for another day, removes our karma and surprisingly that of those who receive these meals too.
A story is revealed in meditation to Dr. V.N. Jayapalan. King Kuberan is forced to join his subjects seeking a morsel of food from a mysterious old man staying on the fringes of his kingdom to appease his insatiable hunger. Upon arriving at the old man's hut in disguise, the king sees his citizens being fed by him. The only condition he laid was that they chant the name of Agathiyar. For each chant, they were given a morsel of food. The old man in a way practiced evangelism back then itself, reciting the name of Agathiyar for each morsel of food that he gave. King Kuberan sees his subjects now chanting Agathiyar's name and not that of Sukracharya as decreed by him. He sits amongst his subjects and watches the prayers conducted. This was soon to become the first sessions of Kutu Prathanai or joint prayers that we have come to adopt now. Sitting before the old man to receive the food, the leper turns into a young, hale, and healthy being while the king takes on his leprosy. The man now feeds the hideous king as the king sings the praise of Agathiyar. The disease together with his karma leaves the body of the king and he turns into a divine being. Agathiyar grants him moksha.
In bringing us to see the Nadi, Agathiyar paves the way to recovery and bliss by expounding the effects of our past karma on us. He helps us deal with it. He brings us to recite the names of the Siddhas and carry out feeding and charity. With karma out of the way and the thorns on the path removed, he brings us walking the path of the Siddhas. As the breath links us to the Prapanjam around us he brings us to become aware of our breath. Using this tool we travel the path further. Along the way the many experiences teach us lessons and mold us further. We realize the need to use a tool and leave it behind for others to pick up and follow. As we gather more tools methods and means to accomplish the numerous tasks along the way, we realize that if we are to carry these tools given or picked up along the journey we would have a heavy load to carry. We learn to let go of our possessions willingly. What remains in our prayer room now is a lit oil lamp and nothing else. That was how Agathiyar had us journey along the path. Up till yesterday, after having me sit alone and while my time doing nothing, both he and Lobha Ma came to lead me onto the next phase. They asked that as of today I adopt a day of silence, once a week every Thursday. This would be the start of another phase in my life. They tell me that emptiness is the final goal.
Ramalinga Adigal came to give the green light to begin the Satsang that he had asked us to hold at AVM citing that "As everything began here, it shall end here too", making me recall Tavayogi's words as he autographed my copy of his book "Andamum Pindamum" back then. He wrote, "The journey begins and ends there". It is a journey of returning back home. The journey is about to end.
I have invited devotees over to join us at AVM on Saturday, 16 September 2023 between 4pm and 8pm. I have no idea what we are going to talk about as I never plan things these days. As we have totally surrendered our lives to the service of the Siddhas, we know that they shall be present to lead the talks.
If the song "Enna Paavam Seithenoh" by Veeramanidasan could bring the presiding Goddess Mariamma of Samayapuram into our homes; if the orchestration of Manickavasagar's "Thiruvasagam" by Ilaiyaraaja could bring tears of joy and bliss within, erupting as in a volcano; if the songs of Ramalinga Adigal could bring us to the state of Gnanam as Tavayogi told us; if the chanting of Agathiyar's name for 45,000 times could bring life into a metal statue of his; if reciting the names of the Siddhas could bring them to manifest in our homes and sit among us and address us; if man in coming together with a woman could bring her to conceive and carry life within her; imagine the power and potential of man to create God and have him come to us. This is only a sample of his potential. Imagine if he could rule Prapanjam or rather rule together for its wellbeing and all of its creation, he would be God in the eyes of mankind. He could use the Prapanjam to heal mankind, remove his sufferings, remove his karma, strengthen his being, empower his soul, enlighten him, and eventually free him. He is then indeed a Siddha.
The soul that is with God in unison with the man and woman's life forces creates a new life taking the shape of an embryo. Life comes within. He is God indeed. God in wanting to experience the many facets of life and to learn to love and give, had to create the opposites too for one cannot know a thing without knowing its opposite too. Having us sin he comes to forgive and pardon us. We return a better person and in some as a divine man, leaving behind our mark and name in history.
All of life is encased in spirit and life, driven by energy and movement, and resides in aura and vibrations. The Prapanjam is forever alive with movement yet it is still in its core. We are told to seek its core, moving away from all movement and activities to eventually come to a state of acceptance and lay coiled as in the mother's womb, settling in the state of peace or Shanti. This is returning home to its core, Mother Prapanjam.
Life then is a play of tattvas driven by energies, working up a stage to host God's divine play. In other words, it is a schooling for us. We learn to enrich ourselves and drop the shackles that hold us back from evolving further into a being of light. The Siddhas can show the way. They are both the beacons and the path. They are both the tools and the method. They are the text and the workbooks. They are the lab and the experiments. Passing through the path and in passing the course we join them as an alumnus.
Someone new to our home puja asked me and my wife "What did you gain in praying to the Siddhas?"
Someone who frequented our home puja asked me, "Why should we praise them?"
A psychologist who read this blog, took the trouble to meet me during a puja for Agathiyar in a temple and asked me "How does Agathiyar speak to you?"
A seeker on his first visit to my place asked me "How do I identify my guru?"
To the first question, I replied "Come and see for yourself", asking her to take up the worship too.
To the question "Why should we praise them?" I replied that in praising God or others for that matter, subtle changes take place within that one has to experience himself. I asked him to praise God and others.
To the question "How does Agathiyar speak to you?" put to me by a psychologist who approached me with a hypothesis, implying that I was hallucinating the conversations that I had with Agathiyar which he had read about in this blog, I told him to take up what I did and find out for himself. I invited him to the worship.
To the question "How do I identify my guru?", I replied that the soul will identify the guru as it knows, for they are one. I invited him to the worship.
Just as Tavayogi would invite those who came before him with their troubles to come to the worship of the Siddhas, I invited them too to come and experience it.
Can merely reading books on Siddhas be equated to being on the path of the Siddhas? Because someone claimed such. Can merely attending a weekly gathering to sit in prayer to the Siddhas and sit in Satsang or discussion be considered to be on the path? This was what was happening in places I had been during my days of search. If this was it, Agathiyar would have had me go back again and again to the centers that existed under his name to gain answers from intellectual discourses and discussions that were a norm then in these places. Instead, Agathiyar changed my course of life and had me visit Tavayogi's ashram and stay there for several days to get the feel of staying in an ashram. Agathiyar, coming to him the day I arrived at his ashram, had Tavayogi bring me to the jungles and caves and have a first-hand experience and a sample of the life he lived shown to me. Agathiyar on his part came and performed miracles in the places we visited. His miracles did not stop there in the Indian subcontinent. It followed us to our shores too.
At the start of his worship in the form of the bronze statue in 2010 Agathiyar sent strangers to my home. They would eventually open up and share their grievances with me and my wife. We would listen through as we were good listeners then. But trouble surfaced when we went overboard in giving advice. Speaking about this to Tavayogi over the phone he thrashed me again for giving advice. He told me to send them to Agathiyar to weep and speak their heart out to him. Agathiyar came through me and took things into his hands. We begged Agathiyar to stop these visits both of the strangers and of his "visits" to heal and speak to them. He stopped for a while. He made me realize that he was in no way endangering me or my family. He was only using me and my home as the venue to carry out his work in healing and hearing out those whom he brought over. Lord Murugan too came and asked that we give way to them. We listened and stood back reluctantly watching the drama unfold. Then once as I stood before his statue he asked me "What would you do if I shut my ears to your pleas?" This made me realize that he wanted me to listen to others' problems. Later my daughter told me that she realized that Agathiyar was listening to others' problems through me. She had asked her collegemate to drop by for healing as Agathiyar was into it. But she never could come over. But having brought her suffering to my attention it seems paved the way for her to seek medical attention and her years of suffering in pain and discomfort ended. She strongly believes Agathiyar heard and showed her friend the path bringing relief from her misery. Similarly in wanting us to know the hunger and suffering of others, he had us carry out charity and feeding. Compassion and love bloomed from within. Just as compassion and love towards others come with interacting with the unfortunate and hearing their woes, gratitude and praise come spontaneously to one who has reaped the benefits and seen the transformation within.
Hence we see why saints have sung the praise of God. They sang praises thanking the Almighty for something that cannot be bought off the shelf nor purchased with money and riches, but that which can come only through their grace and the flowering within in the heart and in the crown and in the very cells. Now we understand why Manickavasagar sang the song of praise "Sivapuranam" to Lord Shiva. Now we understand why Ramalinga Adigal sang the song of praise the "Agaval" to Arutperunjothi. Now we can understand why all the saints finally sang these songs of praises to the Gods and Goddesses.
In initially singing these songs left behind by these saints we never realize its potential. We only see it merely as a song that is sung during puja at the temples by Othuvars and others. But when one takes the puja into his own hands eventually he comes to a state where the puja is no more an external worship of idols and images but becomes an internal worship where the oil lamp lit externally now begins to burn within. The flame behind the screen at the temple's inner sanctum that is seen once the screen is drawn aside now burns brightly within, lighting up each cell in the body and brain.
It is said that human birth is rare. Manickavasagar sings about the evolution of man from grass and bulbs, worms, trees, various animals, birds, snakes, and rock, and arriving and resting in the human kingdom, before deciding whether to pursue the path of ghosts, Ganas, powerful demonic beings or settling as Munis and Devas.
புல்லாகிப் பூடாய்ப் புழுவாய் மரமாகிப்
பல் விருகமாகிப் பறவையாய்ப் பாம்பாகிக்
கல்லாய் மனிதராய்ப் பேயாய்க் கணங்களாய்
வல் அசுரர் ஆகி முனிவராய்த் தேவராய்ச்
செல்லாஅ நின்ற இத் தாவர சங்கமத்துள்
If we have come a long way to attain the human form, he goes on to sing that it is even much rarer to gain admission to the path and attain, not Siddhi and Mukthi, that many crave without understanding what they are asking for, but to have God give himself to us. When we would cry over spilled milk and over trivial things that will one day perish why not cry for that, that is ever permanent and everlasting?
Coming to devotion and worship, people want to be told what they can achieve or gain as in monetary benefits or positions that are eyed and desired in everything else. Did the Nayanmars seek riches? Did the saints seek riches? Did the Siddhas and Rishis seek riches? All they sought was the heavenly kingdom and its treasures, the Holy Feet that showers its grace. Today I can feel and realize what these songs meant to these saints as Tavayogi made me walk the path, and take the journey rather than have me sit and go through these texts or discuss it.
When we can plead and beg others isn't it time that we plead and beg to the Almighty. What another person, master, or guru could give can easily be attained by worship and devotion. Even the greatest master and guru is on loan here for he too has to return to dust. Reach out to God and he will provide for all your needs, not what you desire but what you need just enough to survive and live a blissful and peaceful life.
Indeed it is true that you cannot gather others and bring them along. It is a sole journey as Agathiyar said. Ramalinga did not bring another with him. The Nayanmars did not bring others along. The great saints did not bring another. What they did was leave behind their teachings for others to pick up and follow. But we are so obsessed with our possessions, needs, and wants that we do not see these messages carried and portrayed in some good movies, texts, books, biographies, autobiographies, documentaries, and of course songs. I guess this is why Tavayogi told me to spill the beans to only those who would listen and not to the masses. Agathiyar asked me to share in this blog though. Maybe the words of a reader and friend would surmise the reason Agathiyar wants me to share my experiences with readers.
Shan Sir, When I go through your writings in the blog and the experiences therein, the activation of chakras, the changes in the body, and how the most Graceful, merciful Guru takes care of every minute detail of what His disciple is going through while He is literally carrying you on the path. I know that this is no ordinary blog, these are no mumbo jumbo writings (in case someone has those thoughts) This is a divine blog. I strongly feel only those with a strong karmic balance of good deeds, devotion to the Siddhas, and those looking in all earnestness to travel on the Siddha path will get access to it. This will not be meant for everyone and when I say that I include myself too....as the journey traversed in such a long time is minuscule.. the path to be traveled is long and time is short. He will give each one of us what we deserve for He only knows what is the intensity of that which we are striving for vis a vis our Karmas ...past and present.
Once I realized he was the very Prapanjam, Agathiyar moved on next door, knocking on another devotee's door to bring him to the state of a Siddha. This is the reason he moved out of AVM. Sitting and listening to devotional songs that were merely that by distinction and label, is now an entirely "fiery affair" as emotion bursts its banks and tears well in the eyes and roll down our cheeks. Gods are easily accessible through singing and hearing these songs. The presiding Goddess at Samayapuram came to his new home moments after he came to bless us all, upon hearing the cry of a devotee asking what sins did he do to deserve this birth? In this song, the lyricist refutes having done all the sins that Ramalinga Adigal listed in his "Manu Murai Kanda Vaasagam". As such he asked if it was fair of the Goddess to treat him the way she did?
This brings us to the question of whether to act or not to act, seeing the poverty, hardship, suffering, and misery of others? If yes how far do we indulge in helping and serving them? Or do we turn to look away and justify that it's an act of karma that is taking its toll on them? A reader wrote in asking the same moments ago.
Aiyya, the day before yesterday a 15-year-old boy was killed in a hit-and-run accident... Rage is dancing with all its might these days...I can see it everywhere. This news was so so upsetting that I wanted to discuss it with you. I know the grief of the parents. But I or anyone is unable to reach both of them. I want to tell the grief-stricken person that this is your best chance to escape from grief or all grievances. This is the time to start. How much time is needed to progress even after we come to this path? We know that. So if you don't start the search now, when are you going to? And how will you be able to tolerate such a big pain /loss? I want to ask them and all of the world. ... I know that I shouldn't be worried about it. But still, when I think about how many more years and births they have to suffer, it is frustrating Aiyya. I'm not confident enough to even suggest Nadi to those who share their agonies. Most of them think it's all a farce.
We have seen road bullies and road rage too here. My brother who was in Manila many years back told us that the cityfolks were well-mannered and gave way to pedestrians while driving.
I went through the same phase too, as the reader is going through, as a bachelor in my twenties. A relative was hit by a car while crossing the road after fulfilling her prayers at the temple. How do we explain this? If I was confused and angry seeing the sufferings that devotees went through and feeling helpless as it was seen as an act of God as we see in the movie "Oh My God", Lord Siva had me take a break and actually transferred me back to my HQ in the capital city removing me physically from the coastal town where I joined my service. He had me married so that I take my mind off the many questions that troubled me. After 14 years when all the turmoil in me had subsided and I was emptied of all the readings, discussion, and practice I did as a bachelor, Agathiyar roped me into his path and revealed the reason for people's sufferings. Again there was nothing much we could do. As Tavayogi told me to point to them and as he did show the way and the path, the Siddhas took it from there showing them the means and the remedies. But ironically Agathiyar who had us feed and do charity to the unfortunate had us end it too and had us move on telling us that others would continue where we left off. True enough someone else is doing it. I guess we do not have all the answers.
There are the movers who have the vision to bring change and correct the weaknesses in society as Lord Krishna tells Kanji to take the stage and point them out. Then there are those who only speak and spill philosophical thoughts but refrain from doing anything. So where do we stand? What should we adopt? If Mother Teresa had chosen to look the other way there would be no one to attend to the sick and dying on the streets. Though I have not been to Varanasi or Calcutta, I believe the work she did was taken up by others and today we see numerous lodges catering for the sick and dying to shed and leave their body peacefully and with honor in Varanasi. Similarly, Mother Teresa's movement has branched throughout the world. Though my mother too never stepped on Indian soil, when she passed away the modern-day crematoriums had been fully booked. To avoid any delay in carrying out her final rites, the undertakers proposed that we go traditional and use wood instead. It was akin to a funeral ceremony done in Varanasi. Agathiyar paved the way for it.
You have to taste the honey. No amount of detailed explanation or description will bring on the taste in you. We could possibly point out certain similarities but each experience is unique by itself and in every sense. My writings are based on my experiences at that period of time. I was never one to vomit others' experiences and be satisfied in speaking or writing about them. Today after gaining immense benefits, not material but soul empowerment or Atma Balam after coming to the guru and through the worship of the Siddhas, I still cannot describe them as it has to be experienced, felt, heard, and seen for oneself. No amount of attempt to describe the state could possibly bring these experiences to another. This is the reason that when the lead character Kanji Lalji Mehta in the movie "Oh My God" in the midst of an uprisal, asks his family to gather to show them the darshan he has had of Lord Krishna, he chooses to remain silent and replies "No One" when they ask him whom he wanted to introduce them to. "Here come here, come I will introduce you to Krishna." The next moment Krishna disappears but his voice is heard only by Kanji. The family who has gathered around him asks, "Who did you want to introduce us to?" He answers, "No One" for how can he show God to others? They need to see him within and around them as Krishna tells him, "Who are you looking for Kanji? Didn't I say I am present everywhere? I am pouring on fields as the rain and making nests along with the birds. I am also having lunch with the ants down there." My second granddaughter feeds the ants. The problem is that it starts biting her sister and brother and they start screaming. It is difficult to live by these principles, right? How can you not exterminate termites, rodents, mosquitoes, flies, and other life-endangering species? I doubt if anyone can truly follow the teachings of Lord Krishna, Jesus, and Ramalinga Adigal in this age where we are confronted by dangers in so many forms. I certainly cannot keep up with it.
When Kanji picks up an object that Lord Krishna held in his hands earlier and places it into his shirt pocket, Krishna asks, "What are you doing Kanji? Don't wear this around your neck as a talisman You finally succeeded in explaining to people that this is wrong. Throw it away." He throws it away. This reminds me of how Agathiyar and Tavayogi step by step had me drop and let go of my hold on possessions. Man has brought this immense force and energy that resides in, as, and is the very Prapanjam into his favorite objects of worship and in doing so limited his vision and experience. Agathiyar to teach us this lesson and gain the experiences came as a bronze statue to my home. In constantly carrying out worship and rituals we gave the metal life, energy, and power. Rather than have us hold on to the subject and object of adoration and worship, Agathiyar broke our hold on him and broke free, and moved out into another home, hence freeing us from yet another bondage. Telling us that he was the Prapanjam and that the Prapanjam was in him, telling us that he was in us and that we were in him, bringing the Prapanjam within us each time Ramalinga Adigal came, and finally telling us that he shall leave the moment the Prapanjam is completely brought down, he has linked us to the very source of all matter, subtle and beyond instead.
In asking me to carry out the Siddha puja in return for and as a thanksgiving ritual Nadiku Dhanam, he had me part with my money. In asking me to carry out remedies here and in India, he had me part with my money. In bringing me to my guru Supramania Swami he taught me to even let go of our merits gained from our austerities or tavam just as Swami passed it on to me before leaving his mortal frame. Tavayogi shaped and molded me further thrashing my joy in having him come over to my home. Like Agathiyar, rather than have us hold on to him as the subject and object of adoration and worship, Tavayogi broke our hold on him and broke free, instead connecting us directly to Agathiyar. He broke my hold on him which if left to grow would have seen me worship him rather than Agathiyar. He broke me further having me cast aside the gem-studded ring I wore on my fingers and the Rasamani or mercury bead I wore on me, telling me "We do not need these, my son". Agathiyar who sent many over to my home, that became AVM later, to witness the puja and help out in charity soon brought the shutters down at the peak and height of our activities. He broke up the group having us go our way bringing the tools and the method that they picked up at AVM into their own homes turning each home into an AVM. The next 2 years were spent in letting go as the pandemic surfaced. After a brief visit to the homes of devotees who invited him over after the pandemic subsided, he moved out, relieving me of my responsibilities further. Today I sit free and do nothing, spending my time watching some good movies, and documentaries and listening to songs besides writing this blog. Today's post is special as it was written in tears. As I sat and wrote it Manickavasagar's Thiruvasagam was playing in the background. I was immersed in his blissfully, shedding tears of joy, as the words were penned.
Mahindren asked me what I did during the break which turned out to be 14 years long, that I was asked to take by Lord Siva in a dream? I replied that I got married during that period and started a family. It was some 10 years later that I brought my wife daily to witness the prayers held over a period of 48 days in the newly constructed temple for Lord Murugan in a housing scheme some distance away from ours. I guess this is what Agathiyar meant that my second daughter brought me to the path of the Siddhas as my wife was carrying her then. Agathiyar also revealed that it was her wish for all of us to be born again - together as a family. When I and anyone who desires to have his Nadi read needs to give their thumbprint to enable the Nadi readers to locate the Nadi my wife was not called to go through this process. Agathiyar chose to reveal her Nadi when I went for my regular Aasi Nadi readings. He made an exception in her case. When I had to settle the past scores that came to haunt me as obstacles to even the good things I deserved in life and stood as hindrances in gaining the benefits of my religious, spiritual, and yogic practices, my elder daughter and wife both came with a clean slate. My second daughter like me had a long list too. When I spoke to Tavayogi over the phone about the list he immediately told me it was not necessary. This stunned me and I stood confused for a moment as I asked myself who was I to follow, Agathiyar in the Nadi or Tavayogi, my guru in physical form. Sensing this and the silence, he told me to go ahead if it would make me happy. I listened to him and we never carried out the remedies. If I had decided to go ahead I would have disrespected the words of my immediate guru. Tavayogi who refrained from interfering or messing with others' karma, surprisingly chose to take up her karma. Until this day Agathiyar never questioned nor brought up this subject.
After some 20 years of worship to Agathiyar and the Siddhas, Agathiyar in revealing his many forms finally showing us that he was the Prapanjam has given me another break. I sit around practically doing nothing these days.
Mahindren too has been asked to take a break and attend to his family and career for the moment. He messaged me several days ago.
"Appa asked me to hold everything and focus on family and I’m doing that now. About the future, I don’t know. Even though I knew Appa guiding me through still I feel emptiness when not doing anything like last time (fully on his purpose). Today I continued to watch the Hindi movie “Oh My God”. He gave me the answer Anna. Appa already makes us realize he is everything then why should we hold on to something instead of looking at everything as him. Now I realize Appa left AVM because Anna & Aunty already reached that level to see Appa in everything so it’s no point holding his statue."
I saw the movie too after he mentioned it. It gives us much food for thought though it brushes on many sensitive but pretty much relevant subjects that might cause uneasiness among some sectors and to some quarters. The lead character is an atheist but holds the opinion that God cannot be confined to temples, idols, images, and rituals but is in all of existence. When God takes a particular form and saves him and shows his form, leaving behind an ornament, he picks it up for keeps. God tells him that since he was in all of Prapanjam why the need for that piece of reminder. He throws it away. Just like a seeker needs a guru and the guru needs seekers, followers, and disciples, here we are told that "Just as a devotee is incomplete without his God, likewise God is incomplete without his true devotee."
And so we paid a visit to Agathiyar at his new home last evening. As he was in tapas he came to bless us in silence and shortly after Goddess Samayapuram came to do the same in silence too. There was no exchange of words nor a conversation or a question and answer session. Just as after standing by us in all the puja and charity, activities and events we carried out earlier at AVM he had us drop the role and the tasks and take on another as we progressed and eventually had us just sit, he too followed suit and came before us in the many forms that were appropriate at that juncture in time. Now he sits there as the silent guru or Mauna Guru.
After Tavayogi asked that I frequent a local establishment after meeting him there, I had certain ideas that would have helped promote the path and the Siddhas and bring seekers to it. I approached the head of the center with my wares but they were not responsive to my ideas. I soon took it up to implement and carry it out from my home. My home became a center soon when Agathiyar sent many seekers around. Both Agathiyar and Tavayogi began to supplement these ideas and we grew into Agathiyar Vanam Malaysia (AVM).
Much later, a couple came around and shared their ideas too. But as we had much on our hands I told them that we were comfortable with what we had and were doing. They moved on to implement much of what they had shared and their home too became a center - Pothihai Dharma Chakram, guided by the Siddhas further.
Then there were others who joined us selling their wares. Again I had to them them that we had our hands full. I had to tell them that we never actually planned the year's schedule of events as in corporate sectors. We left the planning and happening entirely in Agathiyar's hands. They went over to the couple who picked up these ideas and the center grew further.
Rather than going around selling their ideas would not it be great for these seekers to begin carrying them out in their homes as the couple and I eventually did? That is how we too could grow together with the venue and place. We need to have full ownership of the place to implement and ensure the voice of Agathiyar is heard fully. As others might not hear what Agathiyar wishes for us, we cannot be attached to a center if we want to grow.
But sadly many do not want to undertake the responsibility and work that comes with hosting these affairs of the Siddhas and rather drop in on others carrying them out and placing their prayers before the Siddhas. In coming as the bronze statue, Agathiyar had asked that devotees light a lamp and place their wishes before him. Many did. Soon it became a culture at AVM. While some brought the lamp, wick, and ghee with them many asked if we had them, expecting us to provide them. Later some would call and ask that we light an oil lamp and pray for them. As it became regular and too often, we told them that they could not outsource their prayers. Whenever someone in my family is warded or awaits an operation, I would let the professionals do their work and return home to light a homam and pray for their safe return. I did not see any benefit in waiting and walking the hospital corridors waiting for some good news. Instead, I went back home and did these rituals hoping that the divine would come to our aid and assist the doctors in their procedures and bring us some good news. Agathiyar too told a devotee that he had to pray for his loved one if he wanted her to survive.
The couple who did well in bringing many to the path of the Siddhas, bringing them to Nadi readers and helping them in carrying out the remedies or parikaram for them, had a fair share of seekers outsource the sourcing of the many items for the said pujas in their entirety and turning up and only being present to sit in at these pujas. Many would outsource even the feeding and charitable acts to this couple. Soon the couple were told by Agathiyar to halt aiding them. These acts of service do not serve their purpose without the active participation of the donors. The act of appeasing one's karma starts with the search for the said items, collecting them, preparing and carrying out the puja, and not merely coming dressed in the best attire, and taking a seat to witness the rituals. Agathiyar in explaining further gave us an example of the reason why temples in the past were built atop hills. In taking the climb one would have exhausted himself and his karma. Upon arriving at the hill temple they are ready to receive the deities' blessings fully without their karma hindering them.
We have to walk the path to see the results. Others should not carry or shoulder us. God is personal and very close to each of us. We need to talk with him, engage with him, and love him as we love ourselves. We think that worship and rituals are only for some and not for us. But in the event things happen beyond our expectations we rush to look around if others could help us fill these needs. Rather than run to the nearest temple, priests, or master for our every need one has to build his Soul Power or Atma Balam to reach out to the Prapanjam for all his needs from the very place he stands. This is what the Siddhas teach us. To stand on our own legs. To carry out the rituals as and when needed. In having us do these the Siddhas set us free from bondage. It is time each householder learns to pray for himself and his family and the world at large.
Kate Humble shares her experience and feelings hearing the call for prayer from all directions and from the 36 mosques around the city of Jeddah in "The Frankincense Trail - Saudi Arabia." It is pretty obvious that she is visibly moved. "From every direction, it is beautiful, it is peaceful, it is just magical, it's such an incredible sight and sound, it is a nice experience, and its authentic, that I find myself completely overcome." Her guide explains, "There are "36 mosques in one square kilometer, and they have been calling for 1400 years, and it is the same words from the time of the Prophet, its humans and not recorded, each guy is calling, and in the past before the introduction of microphones, they used to go all the way to the top and he calls and everybody hears."
Just as Kate experienced, imagine the power of Prapanjam when each home reverberates with these mantras. Agathiyar in coming to convince me to carry out Tavayogi's asking that I light the Homam which I did with some reservations as I did not want to engage in rituals and felt that it was the tuft of the priestly class, told me that I wasn't doing it for myself but for the good and wellbeing of the Prapanjam. In the face of the pandemic, Lord Siva revealed that the Prapanjam was ill and asked us to carry out the Homam to heal her. As we are a reflection of the Prapanjam and she reflects us, if she is sick we are sick and if we are sick she too is sick.
Vibrations generate electromagnetic energy waves.
"Researchers have found that vibrations and the electromagnetic energy associated with them cause changes in your cells, which can then affect how your body functions. Proponents believe it’s possible to speed up or slow down the vibrations that occur at the cellular and atomic levels by changing our thoughts, behaviors — and even our surroundings. It is believed that every cell in our body has the vibration of life. Every person on this planet vibrates at a specific frequency, which is measured in Hertz. When we leave the so-called basic neutral state, it often happens during interaction with people; as a consequence of which events begin to occur in our life, emotions are activated, and then the frequency of our vibrations changes. Vibrational energy experts claim that certain emotions and thought patterns, such as joy, peace, and acceptance, create high-frequency vibrations, while other feelings and mindsets such as anger, despair, and fear vibrate at a lower rate. Studies have suggested that the vibrations produced during the rhythmic chanting of the syllable “OM” temporarily deactivate the amygdala and other brain structures involved in processing emotion." (Source:https://www.healthline.com/)
Agathiyar too told me not to let my guard down telling me that the energies that were activated in the Muladhara in 2007 and that had stagnated and ponded long at the Svadhistana until he pierced the bunds and let them flow last year have to be maintained in the Sahasrara. As he had put in much effort and work on us he warned that he can't have it return to the lower chakras.
"Thousands of years ago, ancient texts in India found that the body has its own vibrations. These vibrations found within the body are called chakras, Sanskrit for wheel. They found that the body has roughly 114 chakras within it. These chakras are wheels of energy. When the energy is producing positive vibrations, the wheel will turn in a clockwise position, meaning that the chakra is open and flowing without disruption. When the chakra is imbalanced, the wheel can turn in a counter-clockwise position, closing that vibration of energy and bringing negativity into that space. Chakras can also be blocked, where the wheel is not turning at all and the vibration is stagnant, no energy coming in or out of its chakra." (Source: https://www.dermascope.com/)
"Schumann resonances show a set of frequencies produced by electromagnetic waves in Earth’s lower ionosphere. The frequencies, created from thunderstorms and lightning, range from 7.83 Hz, called the Earth’s “heartbeat,” to 32.4 Hz. The human body emits vibrations between 7-13 Hz in a relatively calm waking state. The human brain often exhibits increased activity around 26 Hz. ...When we are at the same frequency as the world around us, we feel comfortable and well, and we are less prone to depressive states." When "Our bioelectromagnetic waves are out of balance; we are all out of balance from Earth’s electromagnetic frequency and crave healing... Scientific experiments have proved that by tuning into 7.83Hz, the planet’s own magnetic frequency, people experience benefits. The frequency of 7.83 Hz, also known as the Schumann Resonance, is the frequency of Alpha and Theta brainwaves in the human brain and the Earth’s natural rhythm. Alpha and Theta brainwave frequencies are in relaxed, dreamy, sleepy states; that is also when cell regeneration and healing happen. But the Schumann frequency has begun to increase. This suggests that the Universe is evolving, and its frequencies are getting higher. Which means we need to move to the next level, too. Soon evolution will require a transition to the so-called beta frequency, where the brain works clearly and fog-free." (Source: https://www.aboutsmartcities.com/)
In "An Introduction to the Philosophy of Ramalinga Swami" by Dr C Srinivasan, published by Ilakkia Nilayam, Tiruchi, 1968 (Srinivasan), we find these states spoken of by Ramalinga Adigal. In speaking about the 16 stages and above of spiritual experiences, he mentions: Normal wakefulness: Normal dreaming; Normal ignorance; Perfect wakefulness; Perfect dream; Perfect ignorance or sound sleep or dreamless state; Perfect experience, Higher wakefulness, Higher dream, and Higher ignorance, before one comes face to face with his Soul or Atma Tarisanam. What comes then is Supreme dream; Supreme tranquility which I guess is what Mother Prapanjam meant in hushing me to settle with uttering the mantra Shanti, Shanti, Shanti. Beyond these would be Absolute supreme consciousness.
"David R. Hawkins, MD, Ph.D., a widely known authority within the fields of consciousness research and spirituality, has developed a system of levels of human consciousness. In his view, spiritual values are measurable. He proposes a method for testing people’s vibrational energies, or awareness, from zero to 1,000. Where 1 is responsible for initial existence and 1000 shows the perfection of consciousness in the physical body. The average level of people worldwide is 200, a level borderline between instincts and the pursuit of high goals. On Hawkins’ awareness scale, enlightenment has the highest score of 700+ and the greatest expansion of energy. The higher the vibrational frequency, the higher the expansion and the greater the life force in our cells. The lower the vibrational frequency, the greater the contraction and the less life force in our cells. Nature in general, raises our vibration. And it’s impossible to ignore meditation. When we meditate, our brain frequency slows down, and we vibrate in a completely different way. Unconditional love is the one having the highest vibration! Everything is linked with one, the single element of vibrations. Exists only one consciousness, one field, and one power that’s moving absolutely through everything. This field does not exist around you – this field exists through you. It exists in the meaning of you itself. You are an essential part of the Universe, and you are the eyes through which consciousness sees itself." (Source: https://www.aboutsmartcities.com/)
So what is the idea here in Agathiyar raising our frequency levels to a high of 26Hz with all the activities he had rolled out to us and suddenly having us go within and having the levels drop to a low 7.83Hz? So does the idea of disengaging us from all previous activities and having us go within and watch the breath bring our frequency to the state of Earth's Heartbeat where as Ramalinga Adigal tells us the question and doubt would arise if whether the Prapanjam is in us or we in it? Is it to arrive at the state of Shanti as Mother Prapanjam hushed me to quieten down assuring me that she shall take care of others? Is it to have us experience Prapanjam?
I remember the dream I had in 1988 where Lord Shiva came and told me to hold my questions to another moment and forced me to take a break from the turmoil that was going on in me as to the authenticity of God as being the most compassionate and loving for I had only seen incidents happen to relatives and friends that were contrary to this statement.
It was after 14 years that the reason for God's apparent injustice to many came to light. I understood it was their individual karma. The subject of karma was revealed to me in my first Nadi reading. I came to terms with suffering and misery.
So when Ma Prapanjam came to hush me to settle down in peace by repeating Shanti Shanti Shanti, telling me that as the Prapanjam she shall take care of all things and all the needs of her children when I asked he to shower her grace on others too after she had me experience a sample of her majesty, I knew that I had reached the end. I came to terms with life and its blessings. If she had me understand earlier that the suffering and misery of others were due to their karma, I understood that blessings and grace of the divine were entirely her prerogatives. She knows when and how to pass it to others as she did shower me with it. As I was blessed to make contact with her, I told her that it would be pointless if only I tasted the ambrosia and others were deprived of it. She assured me that all was fine and that she would care for her other children too in good time.
I understand now why Agathiyar who enriched my life by bringing over many youngsters to watch and participate in my home puja and had us all engaged collectively in doing charity, soon brought the shutters down on all our activities and had us stay indoors forcefully, scaring us with the pandemic that reared its ugly head. He taught us to let go of our hold on all actions and thoughts. He taught us to only cherish the past moments. He told me that henceforth the journey was a solo one just as we had started solo. The path had narrowed to allow only one at a time to tread and crossover. The bridge could only accommodate one at a time which answers why no saint brought others with them as they crossed the line and entered the other world. Agathiyar asked me not to wait for others to keep up with me for then my journey would be hampered and delayed. We need to cross the bridge before we hit the age of 60. As it was I was above 60 then. I had to put in extra hours and endure the pain and misery that come with the transformation as now it was a crash course for me. He had me watch the breath and go within.
Prapanjam showed me that she was still in charge no matter what man did to bring harm to her. Man is truly ignorant of the fact that the harm shall return to him in multifold. As it is she is showing us her might and telling us to work in tandem with her. But man turns a deaf ear to her refusing to listen. Now he has to look for another habitable planet as he has damaged the one he was given.
When the pandemic set in, Lord Siva told us that it was man's doing and asked us to work closely with Prapanjam to heal here. While the scientist looked for a cure, he asked us to light the Homam and chant the Vasudeva mantra and Mrityunjaya mantra. Science and mysticism worked to keep at bay the dreaded virus. As both run parallel so do these two planes, zones, or dimensions. Taking only one step brings one to step into the other and vice versa. If Palani was a twilight zone where I stepped into the other world, later the Siddhas stepped into our homes too. The ticket that brings us there is faith and belief. With this ticket all doors open. On the other hand, the magic that brings them down is in the effort and time we put in to connect with them. Once we connect the tie or bond is one that binds us over several births. The bond is only severed when we reach the end of the journey where we identify ourselves with them merging as one.
When many head out for big names, masters, and gurus who have made a name in the industry, and have a large following, hoping to be initiated and gain discipleship, I was shown to two gurus whom I chose to settle down with ending my search. Both of my gurus were a gift of God. Both these gurus showed me to God rather than portray themselves as God.
Supramania Swami of Tiruvannamalai was a householder when I met him. I was brought to him by my chauffeur Deventhitran after I told him my wife wished to have our daughter's horoscope charted during my maiden journey to India to carry out my Parikaram or remedies given by Agathiyar in my very first Nadi reading.
Supramania Swami was born on 17 July 1943 on Kritigai Natchathiram, a Monday in the Tirutani Murugan temple grounds. His mother was taking a kavadi when she had labor pains and delivered him. His grandfather Thuraisamy Pillai, a Vaisnavite from Aadi Peedham, Ladavaram near Tiruvannamalai was an accountant or Kanaku Pillai at Tiruvannamalai Arunachaleswarer temple. His father Jayaram Pillai and uncles were teachers.
Swami pointed out the degree of respect and faith a student should have in the guru, true guru bhakti, or undivided and true devotion to the guru. He revealed the greatness of his last guru Yogi Ramsuratkumar through a miracle that took place after the Yogi had gone into samadhi. The Yogi appeared at Swami’s doorsteps in his village home of Nachananthal at 11 p.m. one day to deliver a painting of him and disappeared into the darkness and out of sight.
“Take Him back with you”, Swami said, referring to Arunachala, as he stood hands together in prayer for me, as I bid him farewell. I had spent five blissful hours with him on that blissful day.
Supramania Swami went into samadhi at 10.20 am, on Wednesday, 7 February 2007, four days after I spoke to him, at his kudil in Tiruvannamalai. He was 65. When I was with him in 2005, he mentioned that his lifespan was only 65. Ramajayam tells me he found Swami’s diary after his samadhi. Strangely, Swami had written the exact date and time of his departure. This entry was dated 23 May 2005. He had also written down how to attend to his body once he passed away. He was laid to rest the same day within eight hours of his passing away as requested by him. When I was with him in 2005, he had indicated the spot where he was to be buried at his kudil to me. That was his wish. I was saddened that he was laid to rest elsewhere, in a common cemetery along the Girivalam path. Although he had mentioned that he was to be laid to rest at the kudil, the Lord and his messengers decided to provide a better place of rest for their deserving disciple. Agathiyar, on 10 February 2007, told me in my Nadi reading that Swami had gone into Samadhi at the right moment - no sooner, nor later. Agathiyar assured me that he had been laid at the right spot and his samadhi would gain fame.
Taking after his guru the Yogi, Swami came in a mysterious manner to our home one day after he went into samadhi.
The Yogi himself came to us surprising us by coming through a devotee, once some years back and again just some months back bringing Swami with him this time.
If I was brought to Supramania Swami on the pretext of charting the horoscope, three years on I was brought to Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal of Kallar Ashram, seeking verification if a leaflet I had been passed on by the Nadi reader who read my Nadi the very first time, was that of Tavayogi's. My discipleship under him ran concurrently with that under Supramania Swami for a couple of years before the latter went into Samadhi.
TK Thangarajan as he was known formerly was a successful businessperson managing his cotton industry in Thirupur in Coimbatore. He was into politics and produced a couple of movies too. Before becoming a mendicant or turavi, he was a well-known orator often chairing the many talk shows or pattimandrams that were popular with the public. The talent he had as a proficient and convincing speaker was maximized now since he took the stage again but this time to preach and popularize the path of the Siddhas or Siddhar Margam. He became a disciple of Chitramuthu Adigal and came to be known as Thaaiveedu Thangarasan as he started an affiliate branch of Chitramuthu Adigal's Aathma Shanti Nilayam at Thaaiveedu in Panaikulam, in his hometown of Thirupur. He conducted prayers every Wednesday and carried out annadhanam.
Tavayogi left the material life voluntarily at the age of 50 just as he had vowed earlier. He handed over the responsibility of managing the cotton mill he started to his son and family and walked out of all the luxuries he had accumulated over the years. His travels through India brought him to the hills, jungles, and caves of Uthiyore, Kolli, Sathuragiri, and Pothigai amongst other auspicious sites of Siddhas. He finally settled in Agathiyar Vanam at the Kallar foothills, on the 9th km of the Ooty-Mettupalayam trunk route where he started an ashram that he named after his guru the Sri Agathiyar Gnana Peedham Thirukovil on the directive of Agathiyar.
In 2004, Tavayogi accompanied a Nadi reader to Malaysia. He found his way to Lord Perumal’s temple in Puchong where he gave his first-ever talk on the Siddhas in Malaysia. Agathiyar had Tavayogi follow in the footsteps of his guru Chitramuthu Adigal and Paramaguru Jeganatha Swamigal who had lived in Malaysia much earlier. Tavayogi traveled again to Malaysia in 2005 at the invitation of a devotee of Agathiyar to officiate a local branch of the Sri Agathiyar Gnana Peedham in Batu Caves. Ironically, his name was mentioned to me four years prior to meeting him. After having my very first Nadi reading in Malaysia, the Nadi reader Senthilkumar handed me a leaflet appealing for donations from one Thaiveedu Thangarasan towards the building of a temple for Agathiyar in Kallar, Tamilnadu. I met him to verify if the leaflet was Tavayogi's. It was his and a beautiful relationship blossomed in the years to come until his samadhi in 2018.
The guru does not come alone. He brings his lineage with him. Supramania Swami mentioned that he had five gurus, namely, his own father, Jayaraman Pillai, Pundi Mahan or Atru Swami of Tiruvannamalai, Sathanandha Swami of Salem, author of Kandhar Guru Kavasam, Kollimalai Swami and Yogi Ramsuratkumar or Visiri Samy. Tavayogi had Chitramuthu Adigal and his guru Jeganatha Swami as his guru and Paramaguru. I am blessed to have met these gurus.
Both my gurus' demise was a big loss for me. How I wished they were around in the physical form to see me grow after Agathiyar ignited the spark in me, Supramania Swami nurtured the flame, Tavayogi fanned it, Ramalinga Adigal connected us to the Prapanjam and finally, the Prapanjam itself came to reside in my home and me. Nevertheless, I am sure they are all watching the progress in a subtle form as they come often to guide us further through other devotees.
I have come to realize that God works in mysterious ways. When I arrived in India Deivanthiran, who came to fetch me at the airport in Chennai told me that he had taken over the task of chauffeuring me around since Raji was assigned to me earlier came down with a high fever. Was that a coincidence or was it the work of fate or God's mysterious doing that Raji should suddenly take ill? Was it a coincidence or was it the work of fate or God's wish that Deivanthiran should take me to meet Supramania Swami? I am forever grateful and indebted to Supramania Swami who opened my eyes to devotion (Bakti) towards God and Guru by his exemplary lifestyle.
Similarly, it was God's will that I meet Tavayogi too when the Nadi reader passed me the leaflet that I kept which showed me to Tavayogi 3 years later. I am forever grateful and indebted to Tavayogi who took me on a journey of exploration on the path of the Siddhas.
The journey passes over several terrains. Hence we should be well-equipped to walk and climb it. We need the tools to help us cover the distance on this journey. As a child, we had no worries as our parents did all the work, making sure that we were protected from harm's way. I took on the many Kavasams or songs that are said to provide a shield or act as a field force that protects us, in my days of bachelorhood memorizing them by heart. So after memorizing the Kandhar Sasti Kavasam, Shanmugam Kavasam, and Vinayagar Kavasam, during the days of my bachelorhood, a force field was erected around me, that protected me from the many doubts and questions that arose after seeing all that took place around me in my circle of friends and relatives. I was kept in this safe cocoon for some 14 years away from harm's way. When the moment of reckoning came the shell was cracked open to let the light of understanding come within. It came by way of a mantra, my very first, given to me in the most mysterious way. My nephew suddenly out of the blue knocked on my door passing me the Vasudeva mantra that was to bring me to meet my guru soon. He asked not to question the source of the mantra given but after a couple of years, it was revealed that it came from Agathiyar through my nephew's Paramaguru Gopal Pillai who came through a devotee. If I had chosen to recite mantras and songs on my own before, I was given my first tool that came from the divine officially.
Chanting this mantra pierces the Vishnu granthi. We are told that further practice of pranayama would pierce the other two knots Brahma granthi and Rudra granthi and the six chakras. R Venu Gopalan in his book, "The Hidden Mysteries of Kundalini", enlightened me further on this mantra stating that the Vishnu Granthi adds obstructions for the sadhaka keeping one under the wraps of attachment and bondage. The 14 years beginning with my marriage and engaging in family life did exactly that. Reciting the mantra cleansed the nadis of the heart chakra and balanced it. It led me to my Moola guru Agathiyar who showed me the ways and the means to dissolve all the past karmic deeds for a better future.
From Awakening State at http://www.awakeningstate.com/spiritual-awakening/om-namo-bhagavate-vasudevaya/ we learn that,
"This Sanskrit mantra can be practiced to attain freedom (moksha) from Samsara – the “Karmic Wheel” that keeps us bound to cycle after cycle of incarnations. This liberation mantra is a karmic eraser."
In reading the Nadi Agathiyar who came as my Moola guru, called me to his path and the worship of the Siddhas by reciting their names besides praying to the other deities. With the coming of the guru, he equipped me with further tools. The mantras and practices come as tools. Armed with these tools I took on the journey without fear as I knew he was beside us. I had a new set of mantras now to recite - a long list of names of these Siddhas. I was given another tool.
Agathiyar besides helping me rid my karma by giving me remedies to be carried out locally and in India brought me before my very first guru Supramania Swami in a mysterious way again. Just as my nephew came and passed on the Vasudeva mantra, my guru passed me a Siva mantra. I had another tool now. Just before I left him after a solid 5 hours of revelation, not through reading the horoscope as we intended for my daughter, he reached into the belly of the Prapanjam and tapped into the events of the past, present, and foretold the future.
Agathiyar gave me the techniques of Nadi Suddhi and Dega Suddhi in the course of several Nadi readings to adopt and put into practice. The purification of the Nadis is required before one progresses to take up Pranayama techniques. Swami Vivekananda speaking about this practice of Nadi Suddhi or purification of the nerves says that "Nerve currents will have to be displaced and given a new channel. New sorts of vibration will begin, and the whole constitution will be remodeled, as it were." He quotes from the Shvetashvatara Upanishad.
"First, the nerves are to be purified, then comes the power to practice pranayama..... in 15 days or a month purity of the nerves is attained; then begins pranayama."
Three years later I met my second guru Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal, who was visiting Malaysia in 2005 in a mysterious manner. A leaflet mentioning his intent to build a temple for Agathiyar in the Kallar hills that was given to me by the Nadi reader on my first reading in 2002 led me to him, asking if he was the one mentioned in the leaflet. I was officially enrolled into the path of the Siddhas by him giving me and several others the mantra of Agathiyar. I had yet another tool now. From chanting the mantra of Lord Vasudeva, and reciting the names of the Siddhas, to chanting the mantra of Lord Siva, I received yet another mantra that connects me with Agathiyar.
Having introduced me to all these fine tools that serve to enhance and enrich our purpose in taking birth, he now comes to work further on strengthening my body, soul, and life breath. Coming again in 2007, Tavayogi besides helping me finetune the ritual of lighting the Homam that he had asked me to do earlier, officially started me and several others on certain Asanas and Pranayama techniques. Impurities that block the passage of the prana in the nadis are removed. As everything is established in prana, the body is made fit for the spiritual sadhana. The disorders and imbalances in the body and its 3 dosas or bodily humor that are a result of our lifestyle, are reset to their original factory setting. This necessitates the need for Deha Suddhi too. Agathiyar gave us his Agathiyar kuzhambu to consume for the purpose of Deha Suddhi.
Once one's karma is ascertained and remedies are done to counter it, the soul is strengthened by bringing forth compassion and love and gaining merits from doing good deeds and actions as in doing charity. The thoughts are channeled towards the noble and the divine by conducting and carrying out worship. The body is cleansed of its impurities by taking purgatives and reverting to a menu satvic in nature. It is then strengthened with the intake of certain herbs. With the prana that is ingested in larger volumes through Pranayama and having the nadis purified, leading to the lower chakras purified and activated to rise up, the mind is finally brought to quieten down by observing the breath. In the silence of these moments, the full force of the divine can come down in torrents and do its will. We connect with the Prapanjam. It passes us the final mantra that goes beyond all actions and activities. It brings us to wind down and settle within. The mantra is SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI. I was blessed to receive it directly from Mother Prapanjam days ago, hushing me, telling me to put my worries for others and the world at large aside, and assuring me that she has everything under her care and control.
